


Never Hopeless

by ToastyToaster22



Category: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Complete, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Dysfunctional Family, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone needs some therapy, Family Feels, Gen, Hot take on the crests, Ken is Important, Takeru needs a nap, but Ken does, real reasons why the 02 kids don't have any, the dark ocean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:22:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 52,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22307107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToastyToaster22/pseuds/ToastyToaster22
Summary: It wasn't supposed to happen like this. Myotismon wasn't supposed to be able to find them in the sanctuary of Gennai's home. This couldn't be real.Yamato wasn't supposed to lose sight of his little brother. Wasn't supposed to wake up on the beach, clothes drenched and heart thundering in his ears, without Takeru.He would do anything. Anything. To get him back.
Relationships: Ishida Yamato | Matt Ishida & Takaishi Takeru | T.K. Takaishi, Patamon & Takaishi Takeru | T.K. Takaishi, Takaishi Takeru | T.K. Takaishi & Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya, Takeru Takaishi & Hiroaki Ishida, Takeru Takaishi & Ken Ichijouji, Takeru Takaishi & Natsuko Takaishi
Comments: 63
Kudos: 113





	1. The Beginning of the End

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dnofsunshine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dnofsunshine/gifts).



> With Kizuna and Psi coming up soon, I am crossposting from FF. The writing has been cleaned up a little and smoothed out.
> 
> While this IS an AU, it parallels quite a few Adventure and 02 events, and functions a lot like a canon-divergent fic for a while. Episode 13 of 02 never happened, so Hikari was never pulled into the Dark Ocean.

One minute they were sitting around Gennai's strange underwater home, and the next they were fleeing for their lives. Small explosions pelted the building with debris. How had Myotismon found them? This was supposed to be Gennai's sanctuary, wasn't it? He told them they would be safe here.

Yamato gave a cry as the floor under him shook and he fell to his hands and knees. Gabumon was there instantly, pulling him to his feet. The others were scattering to avoid being hit. Jyou was screaming for Gommamon to evolve. Gommamon yelled that it would take the rest of the house down. Dust and water were everywhere. It was a terrifying blur.

Somebody screamed that the water dome was collapsing.

Yamato turned, and for a brief second, locked eyes with Gennai. For once his were blown wide, and he threw a wizened hand toward the blond boy. A sharp yank pulled Yamato backwards. A familiar shriek assaulted his ears, and his world collapsed in a heavy swirl of water and darkness.

* * *

Awareness came back to Yamato slowly. His head pounded and his mouth tasted like lake water. Gabumon's wet fur stuck to the side of his face. Someone was shaking him.

The shriek echoed in his ears.

Yamato flew to his feet, looking around at the others desperately. They were as sodden as he was, and eerily silent as they gazed at him. The chosen of friendship's chest heaved. His first yell made them flinch.

"TAKERU!"

Taichi hesitantly lay a hand on his damp shoulder. Yamato didn't have the presence of mind to shrug it off.

He couldn't breathe.

In front of them, the lake was boiling.

* * *

They looked for days. In the end, the looming threat of Myotismon destroying the real world became too pressing to put off any longer. Yamato protested vehemently. He would stay behind. Find his brother. Gennai was nowhere to be found. He was no help.

Taichi convinced him to come home.

They would be back to search as soon as they could.

* * *

Yamato wanted to hate Hikari. He wanted to turn his back on her and her stupid, innocent eyes and shy smile. Her digimon evolved into an _angel_. She was obviously a replacement. He wanted to hate her.

He couldn't.

* * *

Arrows of Light and _Hope_. Takeru was supposed to be here. There was a _prophesy_ with him in it. Yamato balled his hands into fists and tried not to cry.

He held Taichi's hand anyway, wishing he was the one getting shot.

With Wargreymon's help, they managed to beat Venommyotismon. It was harder than Yamato thought it should have been.

* * *

Taichi and the others fought the Dark Masters.

Yamato looked for Takeru.

Sora joined him, and he found himself beyond grateful for the company. She took his moods in stride and it was incredibly helpful to have someone to search from the air.

Eventually, they heeded Mimi's call for an army to storm Infinity Mountain. They found Hikari crying hysterically, holding a bunch of dolls while Angewomon tried to hold Piemon off. The addition of Lilymon, Weregarurumon, and Garudamon allowed Angewomon to stop fighting long enough to do, well, _something_. She changed the dolls back into their friends.

Even with all of them back at it and working together, Piemon was too powerful. Even Wargreymon was having a hard time.

Taichi got too close to the battle and was knocked out by a rogue blast.

Hikari, to the surprise of all of them, ran forward and threw herself over her downed brother, protecting him from further injury. The brightest light Yamato had ever seen threw the battlefield into sharp relief.

Then a massive pink dragon roared past him, straight at Piemon.

Holydramon was the miracle they needed.

* * *

Yamato did not attend Takeru's funeral. His parents wanted to put him to rest. To ease their minds and move on. Yamato tried to hope. He sobbed in his bedroom instead.

* * *

When Taichi called, a spark flared in Yamato's chest for the first time in years. Hikari had returned to the digital world, and a new team was forming. He tried so hard, but he had been slowly giving in. Giving up. They had not been able to breach the barrier between the worlds since they were teleported back to camp in sixth grade. Yamato stopped talking about his brother. Stopped trying to remember

Information poured in.

The timelines had been re-aligned.

There was a human in the digital world.

He was evil.

Armor-evolving was the only way to fight.

It was easier than ever to gate back and forth. Going in didn't mean going for months.

Reuniting with Gabumon was bittersweet. He loved his partner, but painful memories pushed to the surface at every turn. He couldn't fight. He wouldn't. He would search again.

* * *

Hikari looked somewhat apprehensively at the cave in front of them. There was something odd about the way light seemed to emanate from within. Shouldn't it be dark inside? She whispered her concerns to Miyako, who was tracking the eggs on her digivice.

"Well, didn't you say your crest was light? It's probably just calling you the same way Iori could feel Armadimon," Miyako looked to her friend curiously. Miyako hadn't met her own digimon yet, but there was a good chance one of the eggs inside would be hers. She couldn't feel that tug in her gut that Iori and Daisuke had described, but she was eager to give it a shot. She was the only one without a partner.

"I already have Tailmon…" Hikari snuggled her partner in her arms. "What do you think?"

The cat digimon leaned out of Hikari's arms, taking a deep breath of the cave air. A serene smile graced her face, and she hummed contentedly.

"Whatever is in there is good. Even out here, I feel amazing. It’s safe, Hikari. I can tell."

At that, the two girls slowly made their way through the passages. The light grew brighter, but never harsh. The air was warm and fragrant. A refreshing spring breeze.

The passage opened up into a round room, and Hikari's digivice activated, beeping and flashing.

"I guess it is yours!" Miyako laughed, as Tailmon hopped down and approached the egg. "Ooh, and look! Maybe this one is mine. It’s got a cool little symbol on it, like a tiny sunburst!"

Hikari whipped around at that, startling Miyako with her cry.

"Don't touch it!"

Miyako froze, fingers inches from the egg. She turned her head and took in the nervous look on her friend's face.

"Um… why?" she tried to ask gently. Honestly, she was pretty annoyed, but the alarm on Hikari's face made her uneasy.

Hikari squirmed.

"It's not yours," she said softly. "I'm sorry, Miyako. But it's not."

Miyako stood, a strange feeling swirling in her stomach at her friend's sad tone.

"Whose is it?"

Tailmon slunk over, sniffing and investigating the egg. She couldn't help but touch her nose to the symbol carved into its front. It was so _warm_.

A yellow glow erupted from under the egg, splashing dazzling lights across the cave walls.

Tailmon evolved without prompting, startling the girls with her sudden form change. She had to stoop to fit in the confined space.

The Perfect level digimon looked in shock at her own hands before directing her gaze to her partner.

Hikari looked stunned.

"It’s still active…" Angewomon murmured.

Hikari ran from the cave. She had to find Taichi.

* * *

Taichi and Sora joined Yamato on his next search.

* * *

Ken joining the team was an interesting change. Daisuke was more responsible than ever.

The team worked to rebuild parts of the world that were damaged, but Archnemon seemed to thwart their every effort.

Every chosen child stressed about her. A digimon that could make more digimon? How were they supposed to fight her when all she had to do was pull some of her hair and there was an army for them to deal with?

Blackwargreymon was truly a nightmare from the very pits of hell itself.

His existence warped the fabric of the digital world. In his creation, something must have gone very wrong. He rampaged without cause, a desperation and fury fueling him that the chosen children could never understand. Every attempt to reason with him was met with violence. He screamed at them to destroy him, to put him out of his agony. Yet when they came at him, he fought back with a vengeance.

In the end, it would take everything they had to try to take him down.

It still wouldn't be enough.

* * *

Yamato groaned, eyelids fluttering against the ripped cloth of his sleeve. He'd blocked the worst of the debris, but it was getting hard to breathe with all the dirt and dust in the air. This was going _badly_. Many of the digimon were already out of commission, and some of the chosen mildly banged up themselves. They huddled together in groups, clustered behind rocks and trying to stay away from the worst of it.

How they were supposed to fight a Mega, Yamato had no idea. Archnemon had been a Perfect, and Blackwargreymon had destroyed her not twenty minutes ago. He seemed to be becoming more unstable with every passing moment. All they had was a bunch of Adult levels. Unless they somehow got their crests back… Even if they did, only Wargreymon and Holyadramon would be able to match him in firepower.

Yamato caught Taichi's eye and nodded. It was time to retreat. They would not survive much longer. He wasn't sure they'd ever felt this hopeless. Blackwargreymon was a _Mega_.

"Where's the closest TV?" Taichi called over the sounds of battle to Koushiro.

Piyomon went crashing to the ground beside them, Sora darting out to carry her to a safer spot.

"Not actually all that far, Taichi! The problem is we have no one to cover us when we run for it!" Koushiro yelled from his position a dozen or so feet away.

Another blast rocked them off their feet.

Taichi swore.

Yamato peeked as far around his cover as he dared, taking stock of who was left.

Angewomon, Stingmon, and Exv-mon flew around erratically, only managing to dodge because they were in the air. Gabumon and Armadimon lay on the torn up ground, too close to the battle to grab safely.

Yamato's eyes darted around, trying to find any possible advantage they could u-

What was that?

There was a… a golden circle rotating out across the field. Yamato could barely see through the smoke, but that's what it looked like. Something small and yellowish appeared to hop out of it. The chosen of friendship did not have time to see what it was, because a second later a huge angel flew out as well.

Yamato's heart lurched into his throat, but sunk a second later. This angel was purple, with a glowing sword. He'd never seen it before in his life. If Angewomon existed, there was no reason there couldn't be other angel digimon as well.

He squinted as another cloud of dirt blew by. What the hell was going on?

Yamato blinked, and suddenly the angel was rocketing towards them. He vaguely heard a few of the other chosen asking what it was in alarm. The angel got halfway to them before bursting into light. It caught everyone's attention, even Blackwargreymon. The dark digimon turned in midair with a feral screech, launching a Terra Force in the new digimon's direction.

The light faded a second before the energy blast hit, and a blue armored angel rolled out of the way at the last moment. It was _fast_. The angel continued its path towards Blackwargreymon, raising its arms.

"Strike of the Seven Stars!"

Balls of light appeared above the angel's hands, and hurtled at the dark digimon before he could react.

Blackwargreymon went down in an explosion of noise and light that made the very ground ripple.

"Holy _shit_!" Taichi cried, holding Hikari close. "What the hell is that guy?"

"I don't know, but somehow Blackwargreymon is _getting_ _up_!" Daisuke warned.

The dark digimon was indeed attempting to get to his feet. He was obviously damaged, but would not be stopped. He let out an unholy scream and flew at the angel.

The armored angel only spread his arms wide, head tilted towards the sky.

"HALLOWED ASCENSION."

A lightning bolt ripped itself from the sky, and this time, Yamato had to look away.

The blast came with an accompanying thunder crash that left everyone's ears ringing. They held onto each other as clods of dirt flew past.

The silence after the attack was deafening in its own right. Yamato shook his head, daring to creep from behind the boulder and see the damage.

There was a crater under the angel, who had his head bowed. Sparkling data bits rose before him.

"Be at peace."

Yamato couldn't take his eyes off the angel, but a sudden unfamiliar voice called from the field.

"Jesus, Seraphimon, I think you got him!" There was a child running through the grass.

The boy skidded to a stop at the far edge of the crater, puffing and pulling out a digivice.

"Ohho, yeah. He was definitely the one causing all those distortions. That was a nasty virus corrupting him. Way to go!" he called up to his partner, who in a small burst of light, devolved and fluttered down to the boy's shoulder.

Yamato didn't need to see Patamon to know who he was looking at.

The two started chattering quietly to each other, rubbing their faces together in greeting.

"Who the hell is that?"

Daisuke and the others were cautiously coming out from behind their cover. They were dirty and scratched, holding their digimon with care. The younger kids had a collective look of amazement and curiosity on their faces. The older team froze at the sight of the boy.

The goggle-bearer frowned when no one answered him. He looked around in concern.

Mimi had a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide open in shock. Jyou was just blinking rapidly, shaking his head as if he didn't believe what he was seeing. Sora was the first one whose reaction started to scare him. She was shaking slightly, tears filling her eyes.

Daisuke whipped his head around. Taichi was pale, a hand clenched in a vice-like grip on his best friend's arm.

"Yamato…" the chosen of courage whispered.

Tears were pouring down Yamato's face.

"Yamato, are you okay?" Miyako asked, frightened by the normally stoic chosen's sudden show of emotion.

Across the crater, the boy's head snapped up.

* * *

Yamato did not dare believe it. There was no way. He was just so devastated that he was hallucinating. It had been _years_.

Takeru was staring back at him.

"O-onii-chan?"

His brother's voice sounded different, but it still wobbled in a familiar way. The way it did when he was scared and trying not to cry. That, more than anything else, was what put his feet into motion.

"Onii-chan!" Takeru cried, happiness filling his very being.

They ran.

Takeru jumped into Yamato's arms the way he used to. Except he was eleven now, and much, much taller than he used to be.

Yamato didn't give half a shit that he had the wind knocked out of him when they hit the ground. _He was holding his brother again._

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was aware that everyone was probably staring at them, but he couldn't have cared less. He gripped the boy as tight as he could, sobbing his heart out. Years of thinking his baby brother was dead. Of trying to put on a brave face around the others. Of trying to convince his parents it was possible he was still out there somewhere.

None of it mattered anymore.

Takeru was squeezing back, hysterical laughter pouring from him. It slowly faded to crying, and Yamato did everything he could to hold tighter. He buried his nose in his brother's hair. He could not get over how much Takeru had grown. He used to be able to hold him easily, one hand covered so much of his back. Now he guessed there was only a foot difference in their height. They'd missed so much of each other's lives…

However long it was, eventually the crying ended.

Yamato pulled back slightly. His brother's face was smeared with tears, eyes puffy, and nose running. Yamato didn't think he'd ever seen something so beautiful.

Takeru smiled up at him through the last of his tears.

"Hi, Onii-chan."

Yamato choked out a laugh.

"Hi, Takeru."

He pulled the smaller and yet so much bigger boy in for another hug, wishing he never had to let go.

A hand on his shoulder startled him.

"Are we allowed to say hi, too? Or do you want me to go away?"

Takeru pushed backwards, staring up at the owner of the voice.

"Taichi!"

They sat up in the grass, Takeru still half sprawled across Yamato's legs.

"You guys can say hi, but you'll have to come over here. I'm not moving, ever." The chosen of friendship chuckled.

Taichi gave his arm a pat and kneeled to wrap Takeru in a hug of his own.

"Welcome back, squirt," he congratulated, thumping the kid on the back a few times.

"Get out of the way, Taichi." Sora playfully pushed her friend out of the way. "It’s my turn."

Yamato did have to move then, but he couldn't really hold it against the girl. Sora flung her arms around Takeru, and burst into tears as well, pulling back only to pepper him with kisses. Takeru submitted, laughing helplessly at his friend's exuberance.

Takeru looked over Sora's shoulder, reaching out a hand towards Jyou and Koushiro.

"I can't go anywhere, but I missed you guys too."

They stepped forward, shaking his hand and patting his back. Wherever wasn't wrapped up with Sora. Mimi finally stepped forward. She rubbed Sora's back with one hand and pulled Takeru out of her grip with her other.

"All right, Sora, all right. I get to hug Takeru too."

The chosen of love relented, but simply changed her target. She alternated between hugging Yamato and Taichi instead. Yamato would say he was embarrassed, but he couldn't really summon the feeling.

Mimi let Takeru go, and helped him to his feet, complaining about getting dirt all over themselves here on the ground.

"Takeru, Takeru, Takeru! Look! New kids and digimon!" Patamon flew over from where he had been greeting the others, and perched on top on his partner's head.

Yamato put an arm around his little brother's shoulders, and for a moment was just amazed he could do so. The older group parted and Takeru saw five unfamiliar kids looking at him uncertainly. Yamato walked them over and started introductions.

"Takeru, this is the new team. That's Daisuke, Ken, Miyako, Iori, and Hikari, and their partners, V-mon, Wormmon, Hawkmon, Armadimon, and Tailmon. Everybody, this is my little brother, Takeru, and his partner, Patamon."

Takeru gave an awkward little wave when none of them said anything. The one he had said was Hikari was gazing at him, the oddest look in her warm eyes. It seemed sad, wistful, maybe.

The boy turned to his brother, eyes wide.

"Which one was it?"

Yamato frowned. He didn't know what Takeru meant by that.

"The eight child. Who was it?"

Hikari raised her hand in answer.

"I was the eighth child," she said apologetically. "I'm Taichi's little sister."

Takeru whipped around to look at his old leader in confirmation. Tachi nodded sheepishly.

Yamato was surprised when Takeru stepped forward, enveloping the chosen of light in a tender hug. Hikari was taken aback, but smiled at his friendliness and gave a tiny hug back.

Stepping back, Takeru said, "When Gennai said there was an eighth chosen, I was really excited. I wanted it to be a little kid my age so I could have a friend to show around. I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you out."

Hikari blushed, opening her mouth to assure him he did not need to apologize. But she was interrupted.

"Okay, I'm sorry, but I am _so_ confused. Since when do you have a brother? Was he here the whole time?" Daisuke dragged his hands through his hair, upsetting his goggles.

Takeru looked to Yamato, his faced pinched.

"You didn't tell them about me?" He said.

That popped the bubble of happiness Yamato had been enjoying. Pain reared up in its stead. He reached out with a shaking hand, grabbing hold of Takeru's shirt sleeve as if to remind himself that he was actually there.

"I'm sorry, Teeks. I don't know what you want me to say." Agitation flared in his chest. Not at Takeru. Never at Takeru. At who then? Oh. At _Gennai_. "The house was coming down around us. The lake was boiling, Takeru! We looked for you for weeks. We were kicked out of the digital world for years! Mom and Dad buried you! Everyone thought you were dead, so yeah… I- I stopped talking about you. I'm sorry."

Yamato wiped the stray tear off his face in annoyance.

Takeru was frozen, eyes watching his face gloomily.

"I kind of figured people would think that…" he whispered.

"Takeru, what-" Suddenly having him back wasn't enough. He needed to understand. "What happened?"

The others gathered around, beyond curious as well. They had all grieved. They wanted closure.

Takeru leaned into his brother in a half hug. After so long, it was strange to be around people who knew him again. Patamon snuggled into his neck, humming encouragement.

"Gennai's house was coming down, like you said, Onii-chan. Everyone was panicking. I was scared and hid under the table. And then the water started rushing in, and you fell, I saw you. Gennai used a ton of his power to save you all. I don't know how, but he pushed everyone to the beach. He didn't see me right away. I yelled for him, but by the time he turned around, the water was inside. I couldn't swim, and the house was coming apart. I couldn't breathe… And then Gennai was there, holding me, and an air bubble blew up around us. And then we just. We disappeared. Like, it felt like I didn't exist for a second. When I opened my eyes, we were somewhere else. A huge forest. Gennai was almost out of energy. He was dying. He looked around and said that he hadn't meant to take us so far. He just wanted me safe. That he was sorry. And then he faded away…"

Yamato felt years of anger at the old man fade. There would always be some part of him that blamed Gennai for what happened, but at least he had died getting Takeru safe.

"Patamon and I looked around for you forever. Everything was terrible then. I was lonely and scared, and I knew Gennai said he'd taken us further than he meant to. But I couldn't find anyone on the digivice no matter where I went. I was so confused. None of the digimon we asked had ever heard of the chosen children. They had no idea who Myotismon was. It took us longer than it should have, but we realized we weren't on Server anymore."

The others murmured quietly at that.

"The digital world is much bigger than we ever thought. I mean, we saw a projection of it on Koushiro's computer, and it was as big as Earth. Did we really think that we had walked around the whole thing when we were traveling? Patamon and I ended up on Motherboard. A completely different continent. We were taken in by a village of digimon for a while. I was upset, but they were kind. They had no clue how to get us back to the real world. I stayed with them for months before the trouble started."

Sensing that this story would take some time, Taichi led the group over to a shady spot on the edge of the meadow. They sat down and let their exhausted digimon rest in their laps. Takeru and Yamato refused to let go of each other the whole time.

"What was the issue on Motherboard?" Koushiro prompted. He was very interested in the idea of learning about these other areas of the digital world.

"Well," Takeru set Patamon on his lap and toyed with his partner's ear wings. "At first we didn't notice much, but there was a dark mist that would creep unnaturally through the forest at night. Digimon were going missing… It was a dark digimon starting to take over the area. It didn't matter who it was, I never found out his name." Takeru talked over Koushiro's oncoming question.

"With the dark digimon came other chosen kids." The blond boy took in the stunned faces of his old and new friends. "At first I was so excited, I thought they could take me home the way they came in. But um, the problem with that was that they didn't speak Japanese. Like at all." Takeru scrubbed his hands through his hair in remembered frustration. "They turned out to be from Brazil. We could barely communicate at all. It was the weirdest thing, because they could understand the digimon, and so could I, but we couldn't understand each other. We stuck around with them for a little, because at the time there was safety in numbers. Eventually we were attacked, and Patamon evolved to Perfect. Holyangemon. We got away, but the other kids wanted to stay to fight again. I was sick of fighting. I wanted to go home…"

Yamato squeezed his brother's hand reassuringly. He had been so wrapped up in his own agonizing for years. He had concentrated on the idea of Takeru being found. Not often did he find himself wondering that if Takeru was alive, what was he doing?

"But the funny thing about Holyangemon… One of his attacks isn't really an attack at all. It's a gate. A portal. It took a lot of energy and experimentation, but we found out it opens up to some dark ocean thing. I guess it sucks up the evil digimon and puts them where they belong? I, I dunno. We didn't want to focus on that too much. It occurred to me that if we could change where the portal came out, we could get back to Server and see if you were all still here.

"It took, well. It took a long time to figure out, but after months of practice, Holyangemon managed to open it to a different place in the digital world. We were anxious to get off Motherboard, so we went through. Aaaand, we accidentally jumped right into the middle of a battle," Takeru chuckled while the others leaned forward in concern. "There were chosen kids fighting this giant, and I do mean giant, robot thing that was turning things into metal and then melting them. It was so flipping strange. Patamon was really tired from using the portal, so we just booked it away from there and found shelter. The kids and their digimon defeated the robot, and came and found me after. And get this, they spoke French."

Koushiro was bouncing in place, visibly restraining himself from interrupting with a million questions.

"So that was the start of us figuring out that each continent in the digital world is protected by a different region of chosen kids from Earth. Most of Europe protects Monitor. South America has Motherboard. Server just happens to be over Japan." Takeru smiled, excited to finally share his adventure with the people that it mattered most to. "We spent a good amount of time with the French kids. I knew a few words and phrases that Grandpa made me practice, so I wasn't at quite the disadvantage this time. I got into quite a lot of those battles, and Patamon grew a lot stronger. He was able to hold Angemon's form long enough that we felt safe traveling long distance by air. So, we went everywhere. Questioned everyone we met about how far it was to Server. And as it turned out, it was really really far. Where China and Korea are in the digital world is all ocean. We couldn't fly that far, and without a massive boat or a Whamon to ride, crossing the ocean was not going to happen.

"We had to rely on Holyangemon's portal to get around the world, so that's what we did. Two years of trying to get back to Server, or at least File Island. But the world is so huge…" Takeru blew out a heavy breath. Yamato rubbed his back. His little brother shot him a mischievous grin at his next thought. "I stayed hopeful though. I mean. That's my thing, isn't it? I found the more I stayed positive, and helped digimon out when I could, the more things started to change. The truer I was to my crest, the better my luck seemed to be. I found some North American chosen at one point, and one of them was taking Japanese in school. I found a village of digimon that made me a new backpack and loaded me up with food.

"I could never tell if it was just my imagination, but the longer I was in the digital world, the more the digital world seemed to like me. My clothes didn't fit anymore, and one morning I just woke up wearing something bigger." He held out his arms and gestured to the yellow sweatshirt he wore. "Couldn't like me too much, though, never gave me a new hat."

Yamato and some of the others couldn't help but laugh at the petulant scowl on his face.

"Our luck ran out eventually…Or I guess you could say it didn't. One day we were with a group of chosen from Africa, and we were attacked. It was- It was really bad. A couple of kids lost their partners. I think, honestly it's a bit hazy even now. All I remember was running out in front of them all, thinking somehow I could save whoever was left." Takeru kept his eyes trained on his partner. "I blacked out or something, but when I woke up, Seraphimon was finishing off the last of the enemy. I still can't believe it, but Patamon made it to Mega.

After that it was like something had changed inside me. I could feel the digital world around me like it was…" He petered off, unsure of how to explain himself.

"Like it was talking to you?" Hikari asked softly.

Takeru looked at her sharply, but ultimately shook his head.

"It wasn't talking. Not with words. It was just feelings. I could tell if a digimon was kind or corrupted. If the land had been touched by light or darkness. Patamon could feel it to a degree as well, but to me it was clear. It’s actually what guided us here." The boy looked up at his brother. "I didn't even know we had made it back to Server when we arrived this morning. We didn't get a chance to ask around. I came through the portal and I could feel how warped the area had become. The other chosen kids had been talking of weird storms and distortions lately, but no one had known where the source was. When we arrived, I could tell it was here. I could even see the ripples on my digivice. We could track it. I managed to figure out the direction it was heading, and when we used the gate again, that digimon was destroying everything. I hadn't even considered that it could be you guys fighting it, I just wanted to help."

Takeru slumped onto Yamato more, and the older boy wrapped his arms back around his brother.

"Blackwargreymon was… an artificial digimon. But there was something wrong with him. It was really sad. He was out of his mind," Hikari supplied somberly.

"I could tell. Even from far away, I could tell he was in a lot of pain," Takeru mumbled into Patamon's fur. "But Seraphimon was able to purify him. Wherever he ended up, I hope he feels better now."

Taichi and Yamato exchanged a look. Their little siblings' capacity for compassion never failed to amaze them.

The group was quiet in the wake of Takeru's story. Some of the digimon had nodded off, no matter how enthralled they had been in his tale.

"I think. I think it’s time we all headed home. We all need time to recover, and I'm sure Takeru wants to sleep in a bed for once," Taichi offered kindly.

Takeru's eyelids had been drooping, but snapped open at that. He pushed himself up shakily and held his brother's arm firmly.

"Onii-chan, how do I go back? Do I have to go to school again? I haven't been since second grade! I don't know if I remember how to write, or- or do math! Oh man!" A more horrifying thought occurred to him. "Onii-chan, I don't have to live away from you still, do I? I don't want to! Please don't send me off with Mom. I mean, I want to see her, but I want to live with you!"

Yamato's heart broke at the sight of tears brimming in Takeru's eyes again. He stood, bringing his brother with him.

"We will get school figured out, don't worry about that. And Takeru." He bent over to be face to face with the boy he once thought dead. "I'm not leaving you ever again. I promise."

Takeru buried his face in Yamato's shoulder.

_I promise._


	2. Hiroaki

Hiroaki scrubbed at his face and looked at the clock. He'd been telling himself all day that he should go home early tonight. Spend some quality time at home with his son. It would do them both some good. Yamato had never recovered from losing Takeru, if that was even something a brother could recover from. He went through cycles of moods. Sometimes he acted as if nothing had changed, and sometimes he sulked in his room for weeks and snapped at anyone who commented on it. It really should be the sulking and isolation that worried the father most, but it wasn't. It was when Yamato got that determined look on his face and spent long hours at his friend Koushiro's house.

Hiroaki knew he was trying to go back. Yamato had told him everything. As hard as it had been to believe, witnessing his son and his friends wage war against a hundred foot vampire monster was irrefutable proof that he wasn't delusional.

The father believed every word his boy told him about that place.

He also believed his youngest had perished in that god-forsaken world.

He understood Yamato's desperation to find Takeru alive. It made sense. It just also happened to terrify him. If the digital world could take one of his children away, he had no reservations that it couldn't take the other as well. Hiroaki had confessed this fear to Yamato once, hoping that his son would understand and stop trying to go back.

Instead, Yamato stopped telling him things at all.

That had been last year. Afterward, Yamato had been even more reclusive than ever. Hiroaki had started wondering if maybe he should find his son a therapist. He figured even if Yamato had to lie about the circumstances surrounding his brother's… disappearance, it would be good for him to vent to someone. He certainly wasn't talking to his father much anymore.

Hiroaki was surprised to come home from work one day and Yamato was nowhere to be found. He never slept over friends' houses anymore, and it was laughable to think he'd gone to his mothers' place. Right around the time Hiroaki got too anxious to sit still any longer, Yamato came home. His hair was wild, there was dirt on the knees of his pants, and he was gripping that little device so tightly… The teenager apologized shortly, heading straight to bed. But Hiroaki was unnerved by the overwhelmed, wide eyes Yamato had the whole time.

They'd made it back. He was sure of it.

He never said a word to Yamato about it.

The fourteen year old was hardly ever home before his curfew these days. Hiroaki did not have the heart to ground him. He did not want to drive his only child further away. The only thing he changed was his work schedule. The more he was home, the more Yamato stayed at the house. It wasn't that he was trying to stop Yamato from leaving, or catch him in the act… Hiroaki just didn't want his son to forget that his father was still here, and while they had both loved Takeru dearly, Hiroaki had never stopped loving Yamato just as much.

Yamato never brought it up, but he seemed just a little happier when they could share a meal together.

Which brought Hiroaki to his current predicament.

Yamato was still disappearing frequently. It had been months now, and he could feel the frustration wafting off his child lately. Hiroaki desperately wanted to go home and make a big dinner, his cooking skills be damned. He was done with his work for the day. Technically, there was very little stopping him from leaving. Except his shift wasn't up until six thirty.

Glancing at the clock again, he groaned. It was still only four fifteen. There was no way his superior would let him leave that early, work completed or not.

The man spent the next ten minutes looking up recipes online, wondering if they had any of these ingredients in the house.

His intercom beeped.

" _Mr. Ishida, you have a phone call on line one. It's your son_."

Hiroaki was startled. Yamato never called. If he wanted to tell him he was going somewhere, he just shot his father an email. What had happened?

He connected the call immediately, picking up the phone and holding it to his ear.

"Yamato? Is everything okay, son?" He tried to keep the worry out of his tone. To keep it casual, like he hadn't just been thinking about him.

" _Dad!"_ Yamato sounded choked up.

Hiroaki squeezed the phone. Yamato had not cried in a long time. Had someone else been hurt in that place? Someone else's child snatched away?

"Yamato, what's the matter?" he asked, not bothering to hide his concern this time.

" _Dad, I…I'm sorry. I know you didn't want me going back there. But I made it. We all did, back in April. We've been going to the digital world for months…"_

His son paused then, as if expecting Hiroaki to rebuke him for purposely doing something his father told him not to. He had to pick his response carefully. Hiroaki didn't think Yamato would be happy to hear he'd known the whole time.

"Okay, Yamato," was all he said, hoping to prompt him to continue.

" _Uh, alright. Listen to me, Dad. You have got to believe me on this, please."_ His son was emphatic. _"I- Well, I'd say I found Takeru, but honestly, he found us. He's alive, Dad. I brought him home."_

Hiroaki grew cold. Yamato kept talking on the other end, but he couldn't hear a word he said. Takeru couldn't be there. He was dead. Hiroaki brought yellow flowers and a new baseball cap to his little one's grave on his birthday every summer. He had a photo album with the spare few surviving pictures of his youngest hidden in his bedside drawer. He had a _death_ _certificate_.

"He's gone…" He found himself murmuring. It wasn't that he was arguing the fact. He just didn't understand…

" _I promise he's here, Dad. Please believe me. He didn't die_!" Yamato's voice suddenly grew quiet, like he was talking to someone else in the apartment. _"Well, I don't- If you're sure, I just… Yeah, okay. Here."_

For a moment, Hiroaki could only hear his own ragged breathing, then there was a muffled noise on the other end.

" _Daddy?"_

Hiroaki's heart leapt into his throat and he grabbed at the phone with both hands. Oh god. He never thought he'd ever hear someone call him that again.

"Takeru, is that you?" He'd gone from freezing to overheated in five seconds.

" _It’s me! Dad, I'm sorry I was gone for so long. I never wanted… I was lost, but I made it back. I missed you so much, Dad. I'm so sorry…"_ His boy sounded one step from bawling, and Hiroaki was shocked that he wasn't already crying himself.

"Don't worry about that, buddy. Don't you worry about anything anymore…"

* * *

Hiroaki hated himself for taking the train home. Leaving his car at work was not an impulse decision, and it made the most sense, but he hated that the train took twice as long. He was distracted enough to be in serious risk of getting in an accident if he were driving. But the train was twenty minutes longer and if one more person asked if he was okay…

He ran the moment the doors were open and hailed the closest cab. The driver's face twisted in confusion when he gave the address.

"That's only five blocks…"

"Do I look like I care?" He bucked up and brandished a handful of money at the young man.

Even he was impressed at how fast they got there.

Hiroaki hadn't taken the stairs in a decade. His knees grew sore and protested long ago. He flew up them now.

The door was unlocked, and he hurried into the kitchen, only remembering to hop out of his shoes and toss them back towards the rack afterwards. His briefcase wasn't in his hand anymore and he found he didn't care if he had left it in the cab.

The lights were on, but the apartment was oddly still. For a brief, terror-inducing moment, he wondered if he had imagined the whole thing.

Yamato walked out of his bedroom, leaving the door cracked behind him. His face was blotchy, his blue eyes red-rimmed. He was smiling in a way Hiroaki had missed. So, so much.

He stepped forward, hugging his eldest. Yamato hugged back more fiercely than he had in years.

"Is he in there?" The father asked, as eager as he was suddenly nervous.

Yamato pulled back, nodding.

"It’s been a big day, and he was exhausted. He was trying to sleep when I called you, but then he wanted to talk to you too. Got himself all worked up again for a little while. He just nodded off a few minutes ago," Yamato walked back towards his bedroom, Hiroaki following closely.

The door swung in silently, and the overwhelmed father couldn't help but tear up at the sight in front of him.

Takeru was spread out on his back, arms and legs flopped everywhere, the same way he had slept since he was an infant. Hiroaki moved towards him in a daze. The main light was off in the room, but Yamato's desk lamp was bright enough to illuminate his son's face.

He still looked the same. Taller, feet taller, but it was so easy to see his lost child in the boy in front of him. He was wearing one of Yamato's t-shirt and pajama pants, his own clothes probably in the washer he could hear running. The legs were rolled up at the cuff and they still made the sleeping boy seem small. He was taller, yes, but there was a thinness about him that had Hiroaki wondering what kind of nutrition a growing boy could get in a digital world.

He sat gingerly on the edge of the bed, entranced. His son was right in front of him. After years of grief, of mourning the loss of a boy so young… He wasn't gone at all. Yamato was right the whole time. As if to prove that Takeru was really there, he found himself reaching out to touch his son's smaller hand.

Hiroaki took a deep breath and reveled in the feeling of his son's skin. He was _real_. His hair was messy and damp. Takeru smelled like shampoo and toothpaste, and the man suddenly remembered many nights of getting an energetic three-year-old ready for bed. Of watching him until he fell asleep, hushed breaths evening out, and creeping out of the room as not to wake him again.

His watery eyes roved over his son's relaxed face, the same ears, his ex-wife's nose, a few more freckles than Hiroaki remembered… In fact he was more tan than he ever remembered Takeru being. But he supposed the boy had spent most of his time outside. Yamato had told him years ago that there were not many buildings in the digital world.

He rubbed his thumb across his son's knuckles, sparing a glance to his older child, who was leaning against the headboard and staring every bit as much as Hiroaki was. Yamato looked years younger than he had seemed lately, eyes sparkling in the dim light. A tension that had been there for nearly four years had eased out of his shoulders. He smiled. Takeru always had that effect on Yamato, ever since he was born. He forced Yamato stop and smell the flowers.

Hiroaki flinched when he looked back to his sleeping child. Large blue eyes stared up at him, belonging to neither of his children. The thing he had taken for a rolled up blanket was alive, and studying him the same way he had just been studying his boys. It was curled in the crook of Takeru's neck, the size of a cat, but looking nothing like one. It slowly sat up, appearing to be trying not to disturb his partner. The small creature was fuzzy and orange, huge wing-like ears extending from its head.

Its gaze suddenly lost its intensity, cocking its head to the side.

"Are you Takeru's dad? You don't look much like him like Yamato does," it questioned in a whisper.

Hiroaki wracked his memory. This was Takeru's digimon. Way back then, Yamato had called him… called him…

"I am Takeru's dad. But both my sons look a lot more like their mother. You're Patamon, aren't you? Thank you for taking care of Takeru all this time. I owe you." He tried to express as much gratitude to the little creature as he could.

Patamon puffed up and smiled proudly.

"Thank you, Mr. Takeru's Dad. I'll always protect Takeru!" he squeaked.

Takeru huffed a big breath and his eyelids fluttered.

Hiroaki's heart stopped when Takeru opened his eyes. The boy peered blearily at his digimon for a moment, before turning his head in his direction.

Takeru blinked sleepily a few times before a contented smile took over his face.

"Hi."

He had already spoken to Takeru on the phone, but Hiroaki suspected he'd be choking up every time Takeru spoke to him for weeks.

The father chuckled thickly, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his _not_ _dead_ son's forehead. He usually wasn't the most demonstrative man, but he got the feeling things may be different for a while. He could _touch_ Takeru.

"Hi, son."

Takeru craned his neck back and found his brother.

"Hi, Onii-chan."

Yamato laughed helplessly. Hiroaki got the sense that Takeru had been saying hello a lot. Probably just for the sheer ability to do so.

"Hello, Teeks."

Hiroaki squeezed his son's fingers. They had a monster of an ordeal in front of them, but if both of his kids were laughing again, Hiroaki knew it was worth it.


	3. Natsuko

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I feel genuinely sorry for this chapter.

Natsuko shook her head, frowning.

"I'm sorry, Hinata. I must have misheard you, _who_ is asking for me?" She held the desk phone to her ear.

" _Well, he called the company line, and he didn't know your extension, so I was a pretty suspicious. But he is insisting that I connect him to you. He said it was an emergency. His name is Ishida Hiroaki. I've got him on hold, and told him I would confirm you knew him first. Do you want me to get rid of him?"_

The name left Natsuko shaken. Hiroaki hadn't tried to talk to her in over two years. Not since… Did she really want to listen to whatever garbage he was spewing now? He said it was an emergency? Had something happened to Yamato?

"Patch him through, Hinata, I'll deal with him." Natsuko couldn't believe this. She had been having a fairly decent day.

The phone beeped a few times as the receptionist transferred the call. Natsuko drummed her fingers on the edge of her desk.

Before he could say anything, the irritated woman cut him off.

"What do you want, Hiroaki? I'm working."

" _I know, but this is important. I need you to listen just for a minute, Nat."_

Natsuko hissed out a breath.

"Don't call me that."

The line was quiet for a moment and Natsuko seriously considered hanging up on him.

"Well, what's so important, then?" she snapped.

" _It… It’s about Takeru. He-"_

Natsuko did hang up then. She squeezed her eyes shut. After years of silence, she thought they were _done_ with all this. How dare he come back and mess up her life again? The woman pinched the bridge of her nose and leaned back in her chair. How was she going to finish this article on time with these kinds of distractions? It was going to take her forever to refocus.

A heavy sigh escaped her and she looked back to her computer screen. The words blurred and the light irritated her.

Goddamn it.

Her phone beeped again.

" _Um, Natsuko. You have another call from the same number… but the guy says he's your son. I don't know if-"_

Natsuko dredged up every last shred of patience she had.

"I'll take it." She rubbed at her temple.

The beeps sounded a second time.

" _Hey, Mom, don't hang up_." Yamato sounded irritated. As always.

"What is it, Yamato?"

" _Listen, I found Takeru. He's here, home with me and Dad. He was in the digital world the whole time, like I'd been telling you."_

Natsuko twitched at the name of that… that fictional place Yamato had made up. To think that Hiroaki was actually playing along. He was ruining their last child. They hadn't _found_ Takeru, there was no one to find. He had died at camp when he was little.

"Yamato, I don't care what your father says, I want you to go to a therapist. We cannot do this again. Takeru is dead. The digital world is not real." She could not believe how many times they had had this conversation.

" _Did you hear a word I just said? He's alive. He's here at the- Oh, you know what? Screw this. Talk to him yourself."_

Natsuko did not have time to process what he meant.

" _Mom?"_ An unfamiliar voice came through the speaker.

Natsuko's stomach cramped.

"Who the hell is this?" Her voice shook.

" _Mom, it’s me, Takeru! I'm sorry I-"_

She hung up the phone with a crash, shoving her chair as far back from the desk as possible. Natsuko felt sick. There was no way. That person was not her baby. Her baby was gone. He was _dead_. Who the hell was that talking to her? Her heart pounded.

Anxiety and unease settled heavily in her chest, making it hard to breathe. She had to get out of here…

* * *

It was late when Natsuko Takaishi stood in front of her ex-husband's apartment. Late enough that she expected everyone inside to be asleep. But she had to know. She had no idea how, but Takeru might be alive. And he could be in there. Hiroaki and Yamato were deluding themselves about that world, but if Takeru was alive, she couldn't risk blowing them off.

Raising a shaky hand, she knocked.

It was a good minute or two before she could hear sounds of activity inside. The locks clicked and the door cracked a bit. She got a view of droopy eyes and a five o'clock shadow before Hiroaki pulled the door all the way open.

"Natsuko, its nearly midnight." In Natsuko's opinion, he didn't sound nearly as surprised by her visit as she thought he would be. "Come in, but the boys are asleep."

He shuffled into the kitchen, letting her close the door behind herself and struggle to remove her shoes. The woman glanced around the apartment warily, it had been so long since she'd been here last. It looked exactly the same.

"Where is he, Hiroaki? Where's my baby?" She asked urgently, and none too quietly.

Her ex-husband frowned at her tone, but was stopped from answering when a bedroom door opened behind him. Yamato came out in his pajamas, leaning against the doorframe and scowling in her direction. Then another boy appeared, eyes wide despite the hour. It was _Takeru_. Oh, her baby had grown so tall. Such a handsome little man. The pajamas he wore swamped him, and he looked exhausted, but his smile when he saw her… It lit his whole face.

"Mom!" He hurried over to her, and she ran to him as well. She stumbled over her own feet and grabbed her little boy's shoulders to steady herself. Her knees felt weak. Takeru struggled to help keep her up.

She stared into her lost son's blue eyes. His face changed as he stared back, uncomfortable with what he saw.

"Mom?" He asked tremulously.

A strong hand under her arm got her upright again. Hiroaki looked angry.

"Natsuko, are you _drunk_?" he hissed.

Her face flushed in mortification.

"I am absolutely not!" she defended, scandalized.

He leaned in and gave a sniff.

"Oh my god, you _are_." He pushed himself between her and her child. "Yamato, take Takeru back to your room. He doesn't need this."

Natsuko couldn't take her eyes off her youngest as Yamato wrapped an arm around his shoulders and started pulling him away. The teen shot her one hearty glare before turning his back on her. Takeru craned his neck around, young eyes frightened and confused.

"Mom?"

"Come on Teeks, Dad'll figure it out."

The door to the bedroom closed.

Natsuko was furious.

"You can't keep him from me, Hiroaki! I'm his mother." She balled her hands into fists.

"Natsuko-"

"No! I want him back. I want to have a home again. You can't tell me I can't see him! I had custody! Legally, he's mine!" She argued, hot tears welling in her eyes.

"Legally, he's dead, Natsuko! He doesn't belong to either of us. But he said he wanted-" He cut himself off at the pain on his ex-wife's face.

Natsuko could not handle it if he finished that sentence.

"He shouldn't stay with you," she wept. "You already have Yamato! You didn't even care when Takeru disappeared. You never helped me! I can't believe you didn't help me sue the camp! It was negligence. They admitted to losing a child, we had it in writing, and you still refused to help me!"

Hiroaki's face was dark.

"I didn't help you ruin other people's lives, fine. You and I both know the camp had nothing to do with it. You just wanted someone to blame. Takeru was in the digital world the whole time, Natsuko. There was a reason no one ever found a body!" He threw his hands up in agitation, letting Natsuko hold herself up on the counter.

"I don't want to hear a word about that place. How can you let Yamato pretend it’s real?"

"It is a real place, with real creatures, I've seen them. We've had this conversation before! What do you think destroyed the TV station? That whole neighborhood?"

Natsuko slapped a hand on the table, amazed by her ex-husband's commitment to that ridiculous story.

"It was an _earthquake_ , Hiroaki!"

The man suddenly looked towards the back bedroom like he'd heard something. He turned back slowly, breathing deeply and just looking at his former wife. A long sigh escaped him and his brow unwrinkled. When he spoke again, it was with a somewhat kinder tone.

"Did you drive here?"

Natusko was thrown off by the change. They usually just yelled until one of them stormed off or hung up.

"I…no. I took the bus."

Hiroaki placed a large hand on her arm, eyes firm, but no longer heated.

"I want you to go home. Sleep this off. This isn't you, Nat. Come back when your head is on straight. You can visit Takeru as much as you want, but not like this."

He held her steady and walked her to the bus stop a block away. Neither of them said a word.

Natsuko cried the whole way back to Setagaya.

* * *

A pounding headache and a dry mouth greeted Natsuko the next morning. She dragged herself out of bed, showering and making coffee.

Natsuko sipped from her mug and stared out at her apartment. She had moved after Takeru's funeral. Tried to get as far away from her painful memories as she could. She'd gotten herself a tiny apartment so it never looked like there was an empty space. Her work was scattered everywhere, papers carpeting the counter, the coffee table, even the dresser in her bedroom. There wasn't much food in the fridge, she knew. There was no real color. No life. This was not a place for children.

She tried her hardest not to think of the fool she had made of herself last night. Hiroaki had been right to be upset with her. She felt the same way now that she was looking back.

She had scared Takeru. Her baby was alive and the first thing she had done was frighten him. Made him listen to them fighting. She was sure her boys heard them. Natsuko willed the oncoming tears away.

How was this possible? How could Takeru have disappeared for close to four years without a trace and then just turn up? Yamato's story fit the timeline, but it was a fantasy. Even they knew it sounded crazy. Hiroaki had never told the police Yamato's explanation. It could not be true. It fueled more questions than answers…

Natsuko placed her empty mug in the sink. It didn't matter. None of it did. Whatever the story was… was. In the end, the only thing that mattered was that Takeru was back, and Natsuko needed to pull her life together. The woman hustled around, motivated to make the place presentable. She collected her papers. Organized her work into folders. Cleaned. Vacuumed. Washed the dishes that had piled up. Folded laundry.

The mother paused, hand outstretched for a cleaning spray on top of the refrigerator. There was alcohol there as well. There had never been booze in the house when Takeru was little. He was much too curious of a boy to leave it around. Natsuko grabbed the bottles now, nausea growing in her stomach at the memory of the uncertain look Takeru had given her last night. Every last drop went down the drain. The bottles were taken out of the apartment with the rest of the recyclables immediately. She didn't want to see them.

Looking in the mirror and really seeing herself for the first time in a long while, Natsuko resolved to get a haircut. She had so much to do if her son was ever going to visit.

* * *

A couple days later, Natsuko stood in front of her ex-husband's door again. Nerves clawed at her stomach, and she did her best to breathe evenly.

Her knock was short, but clear.

Anxiety reared its ugly face when the door opened.

"H-Hiroaki, I didn't realize you would be home…" What was he doing there? It was only two-thirty. He'd worked Saturdays as long as she had known him.

The tall man raised his eyebrows at her statement.

"I cashed in my vacation time. Two weeks on top of the two my boss gave me when he heard what happened. I'll be with Takeru the next month, getting him adjusted and set up for school in the spring."

Natsuko did not know what to say to that. That was more time than he took off when Takeru had been born in the first place. She fidgeted with the straps on her purse, embarrassed at their last exchange.

Hiroaki seemed to take pity on her.

"You look better, Nat. Do you want to come in?"

"Thank you." She pushed a short strand of hair back behind her ear. She had never felt so small in front of him before. So contrite.

They stepped into the apartment, Natsuko pausing to remove her shoes. The place was clean and smelled like freshly cooked dumplings. Bright sunlight streamed in the windows, giving the place a warm glow. It screamed family home. Natsuko yearned for her apartment to feel the same.

"Takeru, someone is here to see you." Hiroaki walked over and gazed over the back of the couch.

A moment later, fluffy blond hair and big blue eyes peeked at her. Her breath caught in her throat. She let Takeru come to her this time, dropping carefully to her knees when he rolled off the couch and approached her. He was taller than she was this way, and she cautiously raised her hands to hold her little boy's upper arms. Takeru smiled down at her, eyes understanding and too mature for his age.

"I'm sorry, baby. I was overwhelmed, I- I don't have any excuses for what I did the other night. I love you so much, Takeru. I just want you to be in my life again."

Her son broke out in a sunny smile, throwing his arms around her neck.

"It’s okay, Mom. I'm sorry too. For being away so long. I missed you and I love you so much!" Takeru mumbled into her sweater.

Natsuko's heart swelled. Takeru was always so forgiving.

She swept her youngest into a back-breaking hug, getting to her feet and pulling Takeru along with her. She used to be able to pick him up like this, but by the way his weight shifted, she could tell his toes still brushed the floor. Years of tightness in her chest evaporated, and she suddenly laughed out a sob, burying her face in Takeru's neck. He squirmed at the sensation and they both found themselves giggling. The mother ran her hand through his hair, pressing kisses to his cheek.

Natsuko pulled back when she was satisfied that her little one was properly greeted. Takeru's cheeks were flushed pink, his nose scrunched as he looked at her warily, unsure if she was going to launch another kiss attack.

An orange blur suddenly flew across the room and collided with Takeru. Natsuko blinked in shock as a small winged creature sat atop her son's head, regarding at her with intelligent eyes.

"Is this your mom, Takeru?" The creature looked back and forth between her and the boy who was doing his best to look up without dislodging him

"Yeah! And Mom, this is Patamon! He's my partner digimon." He smiled cheerfully at his bewildered mother.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Takeru's Mom!" The digimon chirped at her, and even offered a friendly wave.

"Do you feel like hearing a long, crazy story?" Takeru looked at her innocently, hands behind his back.

Natsuko could only nod, aware that her life was turning inside out and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

She followed her youngest over to the couch, only to be startled once again.

Yamato was staring up at her from where he was slumped against the cushions, an unreadable expression on his face. Next to him sat a… Natsuko had no idea what she was looking at, but it also waved at her.

Ignoring her shock, Yamato looked pointedly away from her.

"I'm still upset at you." He crossed his arms and bit his lip. "But, I'll probably get over it."

Natsuko translated that to 'I don't want to fight you in front of Takeru, so I'll be civil.'

Takeru held his mother's hand and plopped down on the couch next to the blue striped monster. She sat down, not letting go.

Her lost, but now found, child leaned back against her shoulder. He stretched his legs out across the other digimon's lap, feet wiggling near Yamato's face. Natsuko covered her mouth at the sight of her serious son trying his damnedest not to smile.

"Move those, Teeks, or I'll tie your socks together."

Takeru snorted.

"No, you won't." He let Patamon curl up on his lap before smiling up at his mother. "So it all started way back at camp…"

Natsuko listened.

And listened.

And finally believed.


	4. Transformation

The first time Hikari invited Miyako over to her apartment, Miyako had been thrilled. They had been friends for a few months now, having met at an after school activities social. The girls hit it off right away, even though Miyako was signing up for computer club, and Hikari was there for photography. Miyako was looking forward to meeting her new friend's parents, and seeing Taichi somewhere that wasn't the soccer field.

The two girls walked home together, talking about their ridiculous brothers, when Hikari's voice suddenly turned more serious.

"Hey, just so you know, one of Taichi's friends will probably be at the apartment too."

Miyako frowned. "Is that a bad thing?"

Hikari started, blinking up at the purple haired girl.

"No! Yamato is really nice. He's over all the time. He's been Taichi's best friend for years." She was clearly flustered.

"Then why do you look upset about it?" Miyako had to press.

Hikari mulled it over as they walked, picking at her backpack strap.

"Yamato is… unpredictable. Not like Onii-chan, where he's impulsive, but like… He's moody. He doesn't talk much. Yamato is very kind and cares about people so much, but he isn't always great at showing it in a nice way."

Yamato was indeed there when they arrived. Miyako quickly learned a few things about visiting the Yagami household. Don't eat anything Hikari's mom offers if its homemade. Don't get Taichi started talking about soccer. Don't mind Yamato.

The blond boy sat on the couch the whole time, watching TV even when Taichi wasn't in the room. He made _Hikari_ seem chatty. He was polite enough, sure, and answered any direct questions, but he never started a conversation himself.

Yamato was still there hours later when Miyako left.

* * *

The second time she visited, Yamato and Taichi were having a whispered fight in Taichi's bedroom. Miyako couldn't quite hear what they were arguing about, but when Hikari suggested that maybe they take a walk through the park, Yamato stormed out of the house.

The strange part was the sad look Mrs. Yagami shot the boy as he was shoving his feet in his shoes.

"Bye, Yamato honey, see you soon," she called kindly to his retreating back.

The blond boy paused, his hand on the doorknob.

"Bye, Mrs. Yagami…"

Then he was gone.

* * *

Miyako eventually got used to Yamato being a near constant presence at the Yagami house. Sometimes he was quiet, sometimes he argued with Taichi, sometimes he seemed almost happy. Miyako could not understand how Taichi was able to handle having such a volatile friend. It would drive her crazy. They had obviously been friends for a long time, but Miyako didn't see the appeal.

After the third time Yamato stormed out of the apartment, Miyako pulled Hikari aside. Finally, she had the courage to ask what that kid's deal was.

Hikari looked incredibly uncomfortable, chewing on her lip for quite some time.

"Don't let him know I told you, but his family is… separated. There's a lot of fighting and he… Yamato comes here when he can't stand being at home anymore," Hikari had eventually whispered.

Her tone suggested there was a lot more going on than just fighting parents.

* * *

Things started to make more sense when they were pulled into the digital world. All these weird friends of Hikari and Taichi's suddenly had a connection. The stories poured from them, spinning impossible tales of talking animals and danger.

Miyako didn't think she had ever heard anything as ironic as Yamato having the crest of friendship.

And yet, the others were unendingly kind to him, from what the girl observed. Maybe there was something inside him that inspired the other chosen to be friends with him? Whatever the case, Miyako didn't feel it.

* * *

The day Hikari found her digi-egg was the last time she saw Yamato for two months. He was never at the Yagami house anymore. Oddly enough, neither was Taichi.

Hikari was tight-lipped about where they were going or what they were doing. When Miyako badgered her enough, Hikari simply said that they were looking for something, but she really didn't know exactly what was happening. Miyako believed Hikari… But if she didn't even know where her own brother was going, the chances of her actually knowing what was up with that extra digi-egg in the cave were slim.

She chose not to ask for the time being, and soon was too busy to be pondering Yamato's strange habits.

* * *

After the defeat of Blackwargreymon, Miyako spent days rethinking the last two years of her life.

* * *

The girl was surprised when Hikari invited her over after school on Friday. There had been near absolute silence from the older chosen for days, and that had included Hikari, up till now. Miyako supposed they were just adjusting to the idea that Takeru was alive, and perhaps visiting the boy. She hated to admit it, but she felt a little left out. She was pretty sure she wasn't the only one, either.

"So… Is Yamato like, never going to be over anymore? Now that Takeru is home?" She broke the silence as they walked home.

Hikari made an uncertain sound.

"Honestly? I'm not sure. I mean, I can understand him wanting to stay home and reconnect… I can't imagine losing Onii-chan for years… I know Yamato didn't go to school the rest of the week. Takeru won't be going back to school until spring." She giggled, lightening the mood a bit. "But I heard Onii-chan on the phone with Yamato yesterday, and it sounds like they're planning on having Ken tutor Takeru and get him up to speed."

Miyako had to laugh at that.

"They do know that Daisuke is probably going to tag along, right? Him and Ken are like, inseparable. How the heck are they going to get any make-up work done with him around?"

"I have absolutely no idea. Onii-chan seemed so happy, I didn't want to burst his bubble."

The purple haired girl smiled. It was nice to not have to tiptoe around the subject of Takeru. The younger chosen had been nervous to discuss the recent events. With as many tears as had been shed Tuesday, it seemed a rather delicate subject.

"So, what's Takeru like? You must have heard tons of stories!" She was so curious about this boy who lived in the digital world and could get his partner all the way to mega. From what she'd been told, the only others to achieve that had been the Yagami siblings.

The chosen of light chewed the inside of her cheek.

"I didn't meet Takeru during our first adventure. He… disappeared before we found out I was a chosen child. When I did hear about him, all knew was that his crest was hope. When we were fighting Venommyotismon, there was a prophesy that mentioned him. No one told me anything, but Yamato got really upset. Once we got to the digital world, he and Sora took off. I didn't understand for a while why they left, but Onii-chan eventually said they were looking for Yamato's little brother. No one ever seemed to want to talk about him, and we were so busy fighting the Dark Masters. I was sick for a little while, so it all got pretty blurry for some time. It didn't sink in until we went home that Yamato never found him. Looking back, it makes a lot of sense why everyone was so overprotective of me at the time.

Now that he's back, Onii-chan has been talking about him non-stop. You'd think Takeru was _his_ little brother, not Yamato's."

Miyako balked at the thought.

"I didn't think it was possible for Taichi to be obsessed with anyone other than you." She shook her head slowly.

Hikari paused as they reached her apartment door.

"Hmm, maybe now that Takeru is back, Onii-chan will let me grow up a little bit?" She raised her eyebrows at her friend.

They stared into each other's eyes and burst into laughter together.

"Yeah, right," Miyako chuckled. "He's going to hover over you until you're a hundred years old."

Hikari rolled her eyes.

"I wish that were an exaggeration."

She pushed the door in and their ears were instantly assaulted by raised voices. That answered Miyako's question.

It took them a moment to realize the yelling they were hearing wasn't the usual spat. In fact, it wasn't a real fight at all. The two girls walked into the living room, a little taken aback at what they were looking at.

Taichi and Yamato sat on the couch, completely engrossed in the videogame they were playing. The trash talk was swift and ruthless.

In the middle was Takeru, bouncing on his knees and waving his controller around as if it would help his character on the screen.

"Get out of my face, Taichi! I swear, you're doing this on purpose! Stop being a shit!" Yamato growled, mashing the buttons on the controller.

Taichi cackled.

"Of course it’s on purpose! You think I want to move away from you when you have range attacks? I'm not giving you a single chance to use one of those missiles on me!"

Takeru gasped, smacking himself in the forehead.

"I fell off the platform again!"

"Sucks to suck, Teeks!" Taichi elbowed the smaller boy.

"Don't you talk to him like that, I'm going to freaking nail you as soon as you _get out of my face_!"

"Hah! I'm back. I'm coming to help you, Onii-chan!"

Takeru's character on screen reached the two fighters, but a well placed hammer from Taichi sent him flying across the landscape.

"Hey! Come on, Taichi, haven't played in three and a half years!"

Yamato finally landed a hit and sent Taichi's player tumbling.

"Taichi, I swear to god, if you launch Takeru off screen again I'm going to punch you in real life!"

Takeru turned and stared at his brother for a moment, an impish grin stealing over his face.

"You get him here, and I'll get him there!" He pointed at the screen and jumped off the couch, continuing to play standing.

"Hey! NO! That's cheap!" Taichi squawked as Yamato threw himself sideways, landing half on top of him. The two wrestled while still attempting to play the videogame.

"This is revenge, Taichi!" Takeru called, thoroughly battering his friend's character.

Miyako could not stop staring. Besides their tearful reunion, Miyako had never seen Yamato so lively. It was as if he came back to life when Takeru did. She couldn't find any trace of the sulking boy in the rowdy young man in front of them. He looked so different. A happiness had settled over him that had entirely changed his demeanor. For the first time, she could see the bearer of friendship as he should be.

She found her eyes trailing to Takeru. She had asked Hikari what she knew of the boy because she thought there would be more adventure stories. Impressive feats that he had accomplished. A reason he was able to get to mega, to affect everyone the way he had.

But, as she watched him dance out of the way of Taichi's reaching arm, she came to a different conclusion.

It wasn't anything he'd _done_ , that made him so beloved to the older group, it was just _him_.

As if he could hear her thinking about him, (which she was pretty gosh-darn sure he _couldn't_ ) Takeru half turned towards them.

"Hi, Hikari! Hi, Miyako!" He waved enthusiastically.

"Takeru, you're supposed to be killing Taichi!"

"Let me make friends, Onii-chan!"


	5. Release

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can always trust Ken to be as dramatic as Yamato, bless them both.
> 
> I had two comments asking for more, so I moved up the posting to today! We're getting into it now.... The plot will be taking off soon.

Ken Ichijoji was a bundle of raw nerves. The train was nearing the station where he needed to get off and he wished he could stay on forever. He could just ride the train to the end of the tracks, wait for it to switch directions, and take him home.

Who knew how Yamato would react to him not showing up? He for sure didn't.

The chosen of kindness had been dazed when Yamato called him the other day and asked if he would help tutor Takeru. The boy had agreed before he even comprehended the words escaping his mouth.

He'd never been to one of the older chosens' houses before. And of all the people to be the first to invite him… Never in a million years would he have thought it would be Yamato. They rarely spoke in the months since he joined the team. He had no idea what the teen was like outside of the comments he heard from the others. Ken figured they would never be close, and that was fine. Ken had Daisuke. Ken had his team.

Then Ken had a front row seat to Yamato's reaction to his brother being alive.

Everyone was overwhelmed with joy.

They wept.

They hugged.

They shared stories.

Everyone loved Takeru.

Takeru terrified Ken.

The boy's partner had single handedly destroyed a creature that eleven digimon working together had barely managed to scratch. And he didn't seem to regret that he killed a digimon. He openly regretted that it was necessary, but he did not regret its death. He would do it again in a heartbeat, Ken could tell. That power to destroy was incredible.

As Takeru spun his tale about the years he was gone, Ken felt the others being pulled in. They were enthralled. Charmed by the boy's smile and light attitude. He was warm. He was kind. He was strong. With every word, Ken wanted to shy away. Wanted to go home. This kid could _sense_ _corruption_. Ken wanted to run. Takeru must be disgusted by him. Ken was sure Takeru could feel how warped and tainted he was. He never wanted to get close enough to the boy to find out.

The chosen of kindness had no idea what exactly had triggered him, be it the disturbing end to the battle, or the talk of corruption and darkness, but in the week Takeru had been back, Ken had an increase in unsettling nightmares. More reasons to stay away from this new boy.

Yamato wanted him to tutor his little brother.

Ken mechanically got to his feet and made his way to the platform. He had no idea what his face looked like as he followed the written directions to the Ishida household, but passing strangers gave him an usually wide berth. It amazed Ken at how time could seem to jump around at the least convenient times, because before he knew it, he was at the address.

Okay. He could do this. Make nice. Make up a schedule and curriculum to get Takeru generally caught up. Go home.

He knocked, a ball of lead in his stomach.

He could vaguely hear voices inside before the door swung open and a tall man greeted him.

"You must be Ken. Come on in, Takeru is in the living room." Mr. Ishida gestured into the apartment. They entered and Ken removed his shoes respectfully.

"Thank you very much for having me over sir, I hope I can help Takeru catch up with his classes." Ken added a bow.

The man blinked at him a few times and Ken did his best not to squirm.

"I think I forgot what real manners look like. You'll have to forgive us. We were always a little less traditional than most families. Even before all this happened." Mr. Ishida sighed. "I'll leave you boys to it then. Takeru, if you need anything, I'll be on a conference call in the bedroom," he called over his shoulder.

"Okay, Dad!" The young voice sent Ken's heart pounding.

Takeru stood by the couch and waved Ken over.

"Hi Ken, thanks for helping me out with all this. I seriously have no idea how I'm going to be able to stuff three years of school into six months, but Onii-chan says you're a genius! How lucky am I?" The boy chattered as Ken placed his backpack on the floor and started pulling out books. "At first we figured Koushiro would tutor me, but he's really more of a computer genius, and seeing as I haven't touched a computer in years, that idea kinda went down the tubes…"

Ken breathed deeply. This kid talked more than Daisuke did. Maybe if he pretended he was helping Daisuke out with schoolwork, he wouldn't be so tense.

Oh shoot. Takeru had asked him something.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" He managed to ask, straightening up.

Takeru suddenly looked apprehensive.

"I asked, I mean… You didn't bring Wormmon with you?"

Ken didn't understand his concern.

"No, he's in the digital world."

Takeru fiddled with the cuff on his sleeve, looking over to where Patamon was sleeping on the armchair.

"Gabumon is there too," he whispered. "I'm not sure… I thought-"

Takeru cut himself off, turning back to Ken and smiling.

"It’s not a big deal! I'll meet Wormmon later. Why don't we get started?" He plopped himself down on the couch, picking up a pencil. "What should we do first?"

Ken did not know what to make of Takeru. What was that weird attitude shift? Shit. Was he actually really uncomfortable being this close to him? Why had he asked about Wormmon? Was the darkness so evident on him that Takeru thought he'd attack him? Was Takeru talking nonstop a way to cover up how scared he was? Ken felt like vomiting.

He needed to have Takeru feel safe. He didn't want to feel like a threat, though in all respects, that felt completely backwards, because Patamon was right there and Patamon had killed a mega without breaking a sweat…

Ken's head was running away from him.

In order to shut up the increasingly panicking voice in his head, he sat on the floor and asked the first thing that popped into his head.

"Is Yamato home?"

Takeru laughed, throwing Ken for a loop.

"No, I made Onii-chan go to band practice! He has a _band_! And he's been blowing them off since I got back, so I made him promise he'd go tonight. I figured that was way more constructive than him staring over my shoulder while we did school work. He can't possibly want to re-learn third grade."

Takeru seemed completely at ease talking about his brother. Yet, Ken was astounded that not only had Yamato asked him to help his brother out, but he had left the house while they were together?

"I can't believe Yamato is letting me near you." He heard himself say. Oh god why.

Takeru doodled a little grouchy face on the corner of a worksheet, snickering. "Yeah, no kidding."

Ken felt his stomach drop through the floor. There it was. Takeru _knew_.

The chosen of hope looked up when Ken failed to say anything, and his smile slipped when he saw Ken's frightened eyes.

"Oh shoot! Oh man, no, Ken I don't mean you specifically! I mean I'm shocked Onii-chan hasn't wrapped me in bubble wrap and locked me in the house. He was crazy overprotective even before all the digital world stuff happened. Please don't think I meant Yamato doesn't want _you_ here," he emphasized.

Ken swallowed thickly. Even so…

"But you can feel it, right? I must be surrounded with darkness. You can't possibly want to be around me." He hated how his voice wavered.

Takeru went still, eyes staring into Ken's. He dropped the pencil and his brows furrowed.

"Well, I can feel it, yeah…" The blond boy said a bit too casually for Ken's tastes. "It’s clinging to you, but more like a memory than anything else. It doesn't bother me at all. Most people have at least a little darkness around them."

Ken's mouth dropped open slightly.

"But…"

"You know who's _drenched_ in darkness? Onii-chan. And I'm sure I know exactly why, because it’s been fading every day I'm back." Takeru looked guilty.

Ken looked down. It made sense for Yamato to have struggled with darkness, but-

"You know who else has darkness clinging to them? Sora. Though I don't know why. Even Taichi a little, and I could probably take a guess, but that's his business. And with Hikari its less that its… touching her? It’s more like its hovering behind her all the time. I think that's just a hazard of having the crest of light. So, you are not alone, Ken. Even I have a little that won't go away no matter how much I try."

Takeru leaned back on the couch and shrugged, not looking away as Ken processed the words.

Ken sagged under the weight of the information. He had agonized about a lingering taint on him long before Takeru came back. It had invaded all his thoughts. Made him feel less than worthy of belonging to the group. Ken wasn't sure if Takeru knew the things he'd done… but if he didn't, it might actually be nice to start on a clean slate with someone.

A massive amount of space felt like it had been cleared out of his head and heart. In the wake of that, a sudden uncontrollable emotion swept in like the ocean.

No. There was no way he could possibly be upset about that. Yet, Ken had to admit the irritation had been growing all week. The fear of Takeru condemning him had simply been higher priority. Now that the first debacle was cleared up…

"Ken, are you okay?" Takeru scooted to the edge of the couch cushions.

Ken ducked his head further, pushing his fists over his eyes. Horror swirled in his chest, along with hurt, embarrassment and shame. He had no right to be angry about this. It was so unfair.

"Ken, did I upset you? I'm so sorry-"

The chosen of kindness shook his head. This had absolutely nothing to do with Takeru. Nothing at all. It wasn't right of him to be so distressed in front of someone he barely knew.

"I'm not upset with you, Takeru. I promise, it’s not you." He got out between choked breaths. It was so hot in here. He couldn't stand it.

He felt Takeru slide to the floor, crouching next to him, but not touching.

"What do you want me to do?" The boy asked softly.

Ken stilled, opening his eyes and staring at the coffee table. No one had ever asked him that. He'd been upset plenty of times in front of the other kids. They'd been great, but no one had ever straight out asked what he needed…

He couldn't stop the angry tears from dripping onto the carpet.

Takeru stayed by his side. He was a warm, gentle presence that felt so incredibly non-judgmental that Ken suddenly felt like everything he was feeling was acceptable. Even when this was so rude and so stupid.

"I'm mad at Yamato," he forced out. "I know you weren't really dead, but I wish Yamato had said something a while ago. It’s totally different, and it’s so stupid and useless for me to be jealous, because being jealous that Yamato got you back doesn't change the fact that my onii-chan died. And I can't get him back because car accidents don't work like that, and you were just lost. I can't believe I'm actually mad at Yamato for not saying anything, but it would have been nice to talk to someone whose brother was dead too, even if you _weren't_!"

Ken had a hard time stopping once he started blurting everything out. He took a few shuddering breaths and wiped his eyes. Part of him just wanted to sink into the floor. What the heck was he thinking, dumping all his baggage on someone he'd known for an hour?

Takeru's hushed voice made him look up.

"Your onii-chan died?"

He looked devastated.

Ken nodded. "His name was Osamu."

Takeru bit his lip, and Ken was horrified to see the start of tears welling up his blue eyes.

"Dad keeps telling me that I have to tone down how physical I am with people. I lived with basically just digimon for three years, and I keep forgetting all the rules of living in Japan. You seem really polite and I don't want to offend you, but do you want a hug?" He rushed.

Ken barked out a laugh. Now he could see why the older kids liked him so much. The chosen of kindness knew that Takeru was only a little younger than he was, but there was an air of innocence about him that was endearing. It was completely as odds with how much power he had.

"I'll take a hug."

It was short, but Ken felt better afterward than he thought he would. He was not sure he had been hugged by a friend since… oh wow. He didn't actually know.

Takeru let out a wet chuckle.

"Well, now that we got all that out of the way, do you think we should start working?"

Ken wiped his face on his sleeve and sucked in a giant breath of air. He felt different. Lighter. He was able to smile slightly as he held up two workbooks.

"All right, what should we do first? Math or Writing?"

Takeru made a face.

"Definitely Writing."

* * *

Yamato came home earlier than he usually would, but after explaining to Shuji and Akira that his little brother had been found, practice wasn't exactly productive. The two of them had flipped their shit and demanded to meet Takeru. Yamato didn't think he had ever explicitly told either of them that his little brother was presumed dead… But they had all gone to the same school for years, and Takeru's disappearance and later "death" had been on the news for weeks. They knew just by being around.

The chosen of friendship laughed to himself as he fished his keys out of his apartment. Takeru was right, as much as he hated spending a single second away from him, seeing some friends outside the chosen group was fun.

He toed off his shoes and strode over to where he heard low voices coming out from behind the couch. Takeru and Ken were on the floor, Patamon perched on the coffee table and munching on their leftovers from dinner.

"Onii-chan! Dad made tempura! How was practice?" Takeru threw himself upon his brother the moment his shadow fell over them.

Yamato hugged his brother back, ruffling his hair.

"It was great, squirt. How's he doing, Ken?"

Ken flinched a little, having been intensely focused on the writing in front of him.

"Oh, well see, here's the thing." He handed the paper up to the older boy. "I think his writing is actually up to fifth grade standards, he's definitely got talent. The problem is his handwriting."

Yamato twisted the paper this way and that. Takeru scowled at his brother's theatrics.

"Wow, congratulations for being able to read this, Ken." He was only mostly teasing.

His little brother pouted while Ken hid a giggle.

"I'm just not used to holding a pencil so much."

Yamato smirked down at Ken, putting a hand to his mouth as if to exclude Takeru from his next words.

"You know he isn't used to using chopsticks either." He mimed bobbling something.

"Onii-chan!" Takeru dramatically dropped facedown onto the couch.

"And he forgot how to turn on the shower."

Ken couldn't help but laugh at his new friend's expense.

"Onii-chan, you're awful."


	6. Never Easy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go guys...

Yamato wiped his hands on a towel before answering the door.

"Hey, Jyou, come on in."

The young man on the doorstep looked frazzled, clicking through his missed calls.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear my phone going off, the train was packed! I wasn't sure if I had messed up the time and I was way behind. I saw you called and got here as quick as I could." He panted as he came inside and took off his shoes.

Yamato chuckled and tried to reassure his friend.

"Don't worry about it, Jyou. That's not why I called. Actually, it's kind of the opposite. I was going to offer for you to come over later. Mom got out of work early this afternoon, so her, Dad, and Takeru are over at the City Hall filling out more paperwork. They should be back in an hour or so."

He went back to the kitchen, Jyou following behind.

"You didn't go with them? I would have thought you wouldn't be letting Takeru out of your sight for a lot longer than this," the blue haired boy said, honestly surprised.

Yamato went back to chopping vegetables, visibly restraining his irritation.

"Hey, Dad made me go back to school this week, so it’s not like I've had a choice. And I couldn't get a hold of you, so I didn't want no one home when you got here. It’s my night to make dinner anyway."

Jyou frowned, reading between the lines. He sat in one of the chairs at the island.

"You're still not getting along with your mom, are you?"

Yamato did not reply, tossing the onion slices into the bowl with perhaps more force than necessary.

Jyou dipped his head apologetically. It wasn't like Takeru coming home could instantly fix years of hurt.

"So, they're doing more paperwork? Has there been a lot of that?" he said casually, switching the subject.

The blond teen's shoulders lost their tension.

"Yeah. Apparently it’s not easy to prove someone isn't dead. Especially when you can't give the real reason they were gone for so long. The courts wanted to do DNA testing, but they couldn't, seeing as they never had any of Takeru's DNA from before to compare it to. It took a lot of arguing, but they eventually settled on a paternity test instead. There's a mess of new custody paperwork to do seeing as he's living here now. He'll need a new ID card before he can register for school. He'll have to test into a grade later."

"That sounds frustrating. I'm sorry I haven't been able to come see him sooner than this. Mom has been sick with something, so we've been busy at the house. How's Takeru settling back in?" Jyou asked, thinking of his own adjustment coming home after their first time in the digital world.

Yamato's eyes gazed off into the distance, putting the knife back down on the cutting board.

"You know, I was out of my mind when we came home withou-… I never stopped to think about how weird it was to be back in Japan after being in the digital world, like what? Two months? And I never had time to think about how Takeru would feel finally coming home. It happened so fast." He shook himself, looking to Jyou.

"Sometimes I wake up thinking him coming home was all a dream… But then I sit up and crack my head on the ceiling," He gave a wry smile. "I should just sleep on the bottom bunk, honestly. Takeru sleeps on the floor with Patamon most nights anyway."

He snorted at Jyou's confused expression.

"He says the bed is too soft."

"Oh man." The older boy smiled in remembrance. "I was so happy to sleep in my bed again when we came back. But I guess I can understand if he got used to it."

Yamato poured oil into a pan and cranked the heat.

"What are you making, if you don't mind me asking?"

The chosen of friendship pulled out some soft noodles.

"Hmm? Oh, Its yakisoba."

Jyou cocked his head.

"That's kind of fancy. Is there something you're celebrating? Besides the obvious, I mean."

Yamato frowned unexpectedly.

"Takeru's doctor put him on a high calorie diet. They're worried about him being underweight. He was always small, but he was short, so it made sense for him to be lighter than most other kids…"

"Is it dangerous? How much weight he's lost, or well, not gained?" The doctor in training in him kicked in.

"He's dropped down to under the tenth percentile for weight, but he's still up in the high twenties for height." He poked at the oil with a wooden spoon. "But the funny thing is we were scared he was malnourished. It’s not like there's a ton ready-made food in the digital world. But they did a couple tests, and Takeru's fish and fruit diet was shockingly healthy. The only thing he wasn't getting was carbs. Which is what the doctor thinks caused him to be so thin. He got all his vitamins and stuff, he just wasn't eating enough in general. He's only sixty-eight pounds."

Yamato scowled down at the pan as bubbles started to raise.

"Honestly, that is a better diagnosis than I was expecting," The chosen of reliability sighed in relief. "I was afraid he'd have serious deficiencies after the amount of time he was there. He'll probably be able to get back up to a healthier weight without too much trouble."

The older brother only hummed in response, adding the noodles and vegetables to the hot oil.

Jyou watched his friend poke the food around on the skillet. Yamato was never the chattiest person, and Jyou was so happy to see his friend recovering, but…

"Is there something else bothering you?" He asked gently. Even before Takeru's disappearance Yamato had a tendency to snap or get defensive when he did not want to talk about something.

The blond teen chewed his lip for a few minutes. He stooped to turn the heat down on the stove, and sighed, leaning back on the counter.

"It’s going to sound stupid that I'm worried about this, because I shouldn't be surprised in the least."

Jyou waited patiently.

"So…" He started. "Takeru has like, major separation anxiety."

The chosen of reliability raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, I'm not surprised at all. After being away for so long with no real assurance that he could get back, I can see him developing separation anxiety easily. You guys were apart before, so the idea of being apart again is probably really frightening to him."

Yamato ran his hands through his hair, an odd look on his face.

"Yeah, that I was expecting. Except it’s not me. Or Mom or Dad. He's terrified of being away from _Patamon_."

"Oh."

The blond teen scrubbed a hand over his forehead.

"Yeah. Patamon being the only consistent person in his life for three and a half years… They only had each other, and I get that, but it’s rather problematic when he has to go places. Like the doctor. Or City Hall. Or when he has to go back to school eventually. Patamon can't hold out here forever. You know how tiring it is for the digimon to be in the real world for long periods of time. The younger group have their partners around pretty often, but almost all of them stay in their baby forms. All they do is sleep and eat.

"Takeru has been carting around Patamon in the hood of his sweatshirt almost constantly. When we have to go somewhere, Patamon is in Takeru's backpack. The little guy is exhausted from being here for almost two weeks straight. I actually didn't know it would be an issue until I sent Gabumon back last week. I asked if Patamon wanted to go back too, and they had a fit. Takeru can't get over the fact that we don't see our partners every day. That we don't take them everywhere too. I backed off pretty quick that first time because I didn't want to upset him. But then Patamon could barely stay awake the other day, so I suggested that maybe he needed some time to rest somewhere else… It did not go over well. Takeru freaked out. He looked like he wanted to run away from me. Patamon looked like he was going to _fight_ me. I don't know what to do."

Jyou sat back in his chair, taking in the information.

"Well… for now there might not be anything you actually need to do. Its barely been two weeks," He said in consideration, his eyes on the table. "Let him settle in a while longer. Get him used to a routine. He probably never felt completely safe in the digital world. It sounds like he went through a lot. So… yeah. For now, you could probably just let it be. Later on when he seems more relaxed, you could work on it slowly. Just have Takeru go on a walk without Patamon. Then maybe to a friend's house. You know? So they aren't completely separated. Or at least just by distance instead of different worlds."

Yamato smiled gratefully.

"That's some pretty good advice, Jyou. I've been too wrapped up in a million things lately to really think anything through."

"I can only imagine." Jyou shook his head in disbelief. It had been one hell of a year.

* * *

Takeru sniffed deeply as he walked into the apartment with his father.

"Onii-chan, that smells so good!" He called into the kitchen. It felt good to be home. It felt even better that he could _be_ home.

Takeru took off his backpack and let Patamon out. The little digimon shook himself before fluttering up and perching on his partner's shoulder.

"I don't see why you have to hide me in there, Takeru. I haven't seen anything outside the apartment!" He complained.

The blond boy patted the digimon softly.

"Sorry, Patamon. I wish I could let you fly around, but people wouldn't understand. We'll figure out something better soon, okay?" He apologized.

"Oh, hello Jyou. Are you joining us for dinner?" He heard his dad say from around the corner.

"Jyou's here?" He chirped, his mood lifting. He hurried into the kitchen. "Hi Jyou!"

He skidded on socked feet past his father, greeting the older boy.

"Hi Jyou!" Patamon repeated.

"Hey you two, how's everything been going?" The chosen of reliability asked.

Takeru had not spoken to the older boy in so long. He took in how long his hair had gotten, how tall Jyou must be when he stood. He had not spent a ton of time with the chosen of reliability back in the day, but Jyou had always been kind to him.

"Pretty good. Sorry we weren't here when you arrived. Have you been hanging out with Onii-chan?"

"Its fine, don't worry about it." Jyou nodded and looked up at Mr. Ishida. "I don't want to impose on your family meal, I just hadn't been able to welcome Takeru home before today."

The father flapped his hand at the polite young man.

"Nonsense, if you came to spend time with my sons, I'm not going to stop you. I'll set a place for you at the table."

Jyou bowed his head.

"Thank you very much, I'll just call my mother to let her know where I am. Excuse me." He got up and moved away to make the call.

Takeru turned back to the kitchen and headed towards his brother. He came up to Yamato's side, peering into the large skillet.

"What did you make? It smells so good."

Yamato smiled down at him, wrapping one arm around him in a half hug greeting.

"It’s yakisoba. Obaa-san used to make it for your birthday sometimes. I don't know if you remember that, it was a pretty long time ago."

Takeru wasn't sure he remembered. It sounded familiar and it smelled delicious, but he couldn't remember what it would taste like or if he'd had it before. All he knew was that everything his onii-chan made was a million times tastier than what he'd had to eat in the digital world. He did not want to admit there had been a time when he had been forced to eat birdseed and something that looked and smelled like honey, but he'd never seen any bees. Right after that, he stumbled upon a digimon village that actually made something resembling bread, so he ended up having a decent meal. That was the most nervous he had ever gotten about a lack of food.

Patamon yawned widely, Takeru turning concerned eyes his way.

"Do you want to take a nap? I'll come get you when the food is ready," he offered to his partner.

The orange digimon stretched his wings, nodding. He flew off towards the couch.

"How did everything go downtown?" Yamato asked, adding some spices to the dish.

"Um, good I guess. A lot of what everyone is saying goes over my head. Mom and Dad were a little short with each other at one point. They found out there's still one more meeting they have to set up for Mom's visitation rights and schedule. It's- I dunno."

Yamato frowned at his little brother's weak shrug. He ruffled Takeru's hair and left his hand on his shoulder.

"Everything will get sorted out. We'll just take it a day at a time, okay?"

Takeru made a face and looked up at his older brother.

"When did you get all wise?"

Yamato blushed in embarrassment, but said honestly,

"When Jyou gave me some good advice and essentially told me to relax."

Takeru laughed incredulously, peering around his brother's shoulder to look into the living room.

"That Jyou over there? Helped you calm down about something? How much changed while I was gone?"

Yamato had to chuckle with him.

"Hey, miracles happen."

Takeru pressed the side of his face into his brother's chest. He breathed in the smell of the food and the warmth of the house. He had new, comfortable clothes, a bedroom to share, plenty of food to eat… There had been days where this was only a dream. Days where it felt like it would be impossible to ever get back to this. Nights where he missed his onii-chan so much…

He gave Yamato a squeeze.

"Can I stir it?"

His onii-chan smirked and handed him the spoon.

"Go for it, squirt."

* * *

Dinner with Jyou was a casual affair. Everyone was a bit tired from the week and was eager for the next day to be the weekend. Jyou was slightly concerned when Takeru couldn't finish his meal, but Hiraoki waved his concern away. Takeru had developed an "eyes bigger than his stomach" condition, and there were plenty of leftovers if he, or any of them, were hungry later.

The boys were getting ready to say goodnight to Jyou when Yamato's cell phone rang.

"Huh. Hang on, its Taichi." Yamato walked away a few steps to be polite. "Hey, what's up?"

Takeru waited by the door with Jyou.

"Well, what does that mean? Is it a problem?"

His brother's sharp tone put Takeru on edge. He nervously exchanged a glance with his older friend.

"Are you sure, it’s like eight o'clock. Yes, I know it's a Friday night."

A pause.

"What did Koushiro mean by that? I don't like him using Ta- Why couldn't he call me himself?"

Takeru froze at the sound of his brother cutting his name short. What was going on and why were they talking about him? Hot anxiety prickled across his skin.

Yamato turned around to look at them then, face pinched in unease.

"Well, tell him not to bother calling Jyou, he's here with us. Yeah. I'll bring him along."

Jyou blanched. Takeru shuffled his feet, wishing he could hear the other side of the conversation.

"Fine. No, I'll see you in half an hour. Yeah, bye."

The chosen of friendship pressed his palms into his eyes and groaned.

"Onii-chan, what's the matter?" Takeru stepped forward uncertainly.

His brother leveled a tense gaze at him

"Blackwargreymon made all these distortion things. All these weak spots in the digital barrier, right?"

The two boys nodded.

"Well, Koushiro has been monitoring them, and apparently they've just about all faded. The digital world has been healing the you know, data ripples or whatever he wants to call them."

Jyou's brows furrowed.

"That sounds like a good thing to me. What's the problem?"

Yamato clenched his fists and didn't take his eyes off his little brother.

"One of them isn't fading. It’s getting stronger. And he wants Takeru to take a look at it and see what he can "feel" from it."

Takeru's stomach clenched. Why couldn't things ever be easy?


	7. In the Dark

The atmosphere in the Izumi apartment was tense.

"Alright, Koushiro, why exactly couldn't this wait until tomorrow?" Yamato growled.

He ignored the nervous look on the computer genius' face. There was probably not a single person present who believed that the lateness of the meeting was the cause for his ire. Takeru placed a hand his arm, most likely trying to stop him from throttling someone.

"Just listen to what he has to say, Yamato, before biting his head off. He's being more careful about this than you think." Taichi came up beside his irritated friend. When he did not reply, Taichi nodded at the redhead to continue.

Koushiro sent Taichi a grateful smile.

"I understand your concern, Yamato. Please let me explain." He took a moment to look around at those that had managed to come over on such short notice. "When Blackwargreymon was created, it caused the structural integrity of the digital barrier to fluctuate. The lines between worlds are fragile as it is, and in some places, they were weakened dangerously. Dozens of thin spots popped up on my scanner. Places where the fabric of the digital world was distorted."

Ken looked wary.

"There must be more worlds than just the ones we know of. If the barrier is thin enough, could a creature from another world break through?"

Yamato did not like the idea of that in the least. The destruction Myotismon had unleashed on their world was heavy on his mind. The last thing they needed was a new, unknown creature wreaking havoc. The digital world was damaged enough as it was.

Koushiro crossed his arms and shook his head.

"It’s not as easy as something or someone just breaking through the barrier with brute force. So don't worry about that. There has to be some connection made between the worlds in order for an entity to move from one world to another. We had to be given the digivices before we could enter the digital world, right? And we can't get in without having them on us each time. I'm not expecting an invasion or anything.

"I've been monitoring the weak spots in the barrier since Blackwargreymon's presence started forming them. For the most part, they have been closing up and healing on their own. There were a couple that did not seem to be doing so, and I became worried about there being permanent damage to the barrier. Taichi and I went and checked them out in person earlier this week."

Wait, what the heck? They'd known something was happening for over a week and no one had said anything to him? Yamato shot a betrayed glare at Taichi. Beside him, Takeru seemed startled as well.

"Hey, you had bigger things to deal with. It’s not like the weak spots were doing anything," Taichi defended, eyeing Yamato pointedly.

He deflated, wrapping an arm more securely around Takeru's shoulders.

"Fine. I've been distracted…"

"No one is blaming you, Yamato. We don't even know if we can do anything about them." Koushiro reassured him.

Daisuke piped up from next to Ken on the couch.

"Wait, so if nothing is coming through, and we can't do anything about these distortion spots… why are we even here? What's the problem?"

Takeru pushed closer to Yamato, Patamon listening raptly from his spot in his little brother's arms.

"I was getting to that. So, like I said, Taichi and I went to some of these weak spots. I was able to run scans on them and they indeed were healing like the others, albeit at a much slower rate. Everything seemed stable. I honestly put them out of my mind for a few days. This morning I checked and there was only one left. Only this one that had barely changed over the last two weeks. It made me uncomfortable, and when I checked back in on it an hour ago… my computer was picking up an increase in energy in the distortion."

Jyou put his hands on the back of the couch.

"What do you mean?"

Koushiro pushed his laptop away from himself on the tabletop, standing up and scratching at his head in frustration.

"See, here's the thing. The digital scanner can pick up where the distortions are, how weak the barrier has become, and if there is an increasing or decreasing amount of energy at the site. But nothing more than that. No information about what is causing it. What on the other side is putting so much energy into trying to get through. Because that's the only thing I can think of; it's like something is trying to push through the barrier into the digital world. But it doesn't work like that. There has to be a connection first. By all logic, it should be completely safe to go there and take another look at it."

There was an apprehensive silence. Yamato felt like everyone was doing their best not to look in their direction.

"That's why you want me to check it out, right?" his little brother asked. It came out quiet, but it was clear everyone heard.

They all turned to look back at him. Jyou's brow was furrowed in worry. Hikari kept glancing back and forth between Takeru and her own brother. Ken was biting his lip. Daisuke alone looked only generally curious.

Koushiro's face was tight.

"I'm sorry to ask this of you, Takeru. The scanner can only do so much. I'm not expecting you to be able to look at it and suddenly know everything. But if there's anything you can feel from it, if it’s benign or malicious… at this point any information is better than what we have."

* * *

"If it’s perfectly safe for him to take a look at this thing, why are there so many of us?"

Takeru cringed at the suspicious tone to his brother's voice. One by one they used Koushiro's desk computer to enter the digital world. Koushiro himself came through last, clutching his laptop to his chest. The moment his feet touched the ground he had it open, fingers clicking away at the keyboard.

If the situation were different, Takeru would admit that he was miffed about how easy it was for his group to go back and forth between the worlds now. He had seen dozens of TVs scattered across the digital world in his journey to get home. He hadn't given them any more thought than he did the vending machines and other miscellaneous technological items that often dotted the landscape.

Instead, Takeru was more focused on the weak waves of darkness twisting through the trees.

"Because I'm not an idiot, Yamato. Even if logic says there should be nothing to worry about, I'm not exactly ignorant to how we all feel about Takeru doing this. We just got him back. I didn't quite expect to get eight of us on a Friday night with no notice, but I'm for sure not going to complain of having too much backup if, however unlikely, something goes wrong."

His brother huffed.

Koushiro did not have to tell him what direction to go.

They made their way through the trees slowly, their digimon surrounding them. As much as Takeru understood the desire to get information, he found himself repeating his brother's sentiment from earlier. Why couldn't this wait until morning? It was dark in the forest. The moon was close to full, casting odd shadows through the leaves and onto the uneven ground. Even having spent hundreds of nights in the digital world, Takeru was stressed.

Tailmon seemed to glow in the spotty moonlight in front of them.

He gave Patamon a squeeze.

Though there was nothing visible, Takeru could tell there was darkness, different from the kind caused by the lack of sunlight. It sunk to the forest floor, thick around his ankles. He had felt much worse, darkness sharp and brittle, prickling at him as they tried to escape. The darkness here was strange, cool and moist. It felt like it was a mist, eddying around their feet as they walked, kicking up behind them.

The chosen of hope peeked around him, curious about the others. Jyou seemed as cautious as could be expected of a person creeping through the woods at night. Gommamon patted his arm now and then, whispering encouragement. Koushiro periodically popped his laptop open, throwing unusual shadows over his face and the trees. Tentomon buzzed contentedly at his side, seemingly unaffected by their near silent trek. Daisuke and Taichi marched confidently through the sparse undergrowth, once in a while muttering about the stupid rocks they kept stubbing their toes on. Off to the side, Agumon and V-mon giggled at their partners' tempers.

Yamato was at his elbow, walking so closely they kept knocking into each other. Takeru was hardly bothered.

It was Ken and Hikari who really caught his attention. The chosen of light stuck close to her brother, rubbing at her arms. At a glance one would think she was cold, but occasionally she swiped a hand down her arm and shook her fingers, like she was flicking water away. Her face was pale in the starlight, eyes drawn far off into the wood. Likewise, it was hard to tell if it was the light washing Ken's face white like that, or if he too could feel the wrongness of the darkness now swirling around their legs. The chosen of kindness seemed reluctant to follow, having to speed up periodically to stop from being left behind.

Takeru wondered about the two of them.

They walked on.

It was the sudden pins and needles in his toes that made him stop. Takeru looked down, as if he could see the cause. There was nothing there. Just the grass and his new shoes. The boy swallowed thickly. His pants felt damp from the knees down. Even the air above that had started taking on a dank, cloying sensation. A breeze blew in, and Takeru was disturbed at the sickly sour taste it brought to the back of his throat.

Yamato stopped with him, looking down in open concern.

"Hey guys, stop. Teeks, what's the matter?"

It was familiar.

The group paused around him, Hikari grabbing her brother's hand.

Takeru's heart thumped heavily in his chest.

"It… I don't… I don't want to go any further," he breathed.

"You don't have to," his brother said firmly, putting a hand on his shoulder. It felt clammy even through his sweatshirt.

"Is there something here, Takeru? We aren't far from the distortion," Koushiro was saying. The others gathered a little closer, looking around in apprehension. The digimon were on guard.

Takeru knew this kind of darkness.

He shook his head weakly, not really listening.

"Takeru?" His brother murmured.

Patamon looked up, small face serious.

"It smells like Dakuyagimon."

Takeru's breathing sped up. Patamon was right. He took a shaky step back. Tried to blink unwanted images out of his head.

"Onii-chan, I want to go-"

Even if Hikari's scream hadn't cut him off, he doubted he would have finished his sentence. Ken dropped Wormmon and fell to his knees, clutching his head.

Takeru staggered back, feeling like his heart had stopped, his eyes wide and fixed on something he could not see.

Huge eyes _saw_ them. Menacing. Powerful. Predatory. Dangerous eyes pinned him in place with terror. They loomed over the boy as if he were _nothing_. A speck. He wanted to run. To hide. Anything to get it to _stop looking at him!_

The older kids were yelling. Trying to understand. The digimon evolved, throwing flashing shadows everywhere.

But there was nothing to _fight_.

Hikari was crying, Taichi wrapped around her like he could shield her from the terror he himself didn't feel.

Yamato was in front of him, calling his name. Hands squeezed his upper arms firmly.

Takeru looked right through him. The pressure was building. His heart pounded wildly in his chest. He could not escape. He felt himself shaking, the darkness rearing up in the forest in front of him like a giant wave. A hand. It would reach out. It would _have_ them.

Takeru shrieked as the darkness raced toward them.

 _No_.

Golden light flared in front of them, raging high into the trees and through the forest. The darkness plowed into the light but was repelled, weakening and retreating.

For a moment Takeru couldn't move, then the spell broke.

The chosen of hope gasped at the intense relief that washed over him. He sagged against Yamato, the weight of the eyes off him at last. The humid, sour air cleared almost immediately, brisk autumn smells returning. Takeru was so warm. Warm and dry and not chilled in soggy clothes. He hugged his older brother like a lifeline. Yamato held him close enough that he could hear the teen's rapid heartbeat.

"What the _hell_ just happened?" Daisuke cried.

Takeru lifted his head.

Angemon was curled around the two of them, Garurumon facing the direction of the distortion. Past them, Taichi was on his knees in the grass. Hikari was pressed tight to his chest, eyes wide in awe, yet tears still dripped off her chin. Angewomon hovered over the siblings. Ken looked like he was going to be sick, Daisuke's arm slung over his shoulders. Wormmon rubbed a claw on his knee comfortingly. Jyou looked around at the distressed chosen anxiously, not sure whom he should be helping first.

Koushiro slowly picked his laptop out of the dirt.

"I don't…I don't know." He paused, eyes roving the screen. "That was the biggest energy spike so far. But I don't understand what _happened_. You stopped, and then Hikari screamed, you guys were obviously terrified, but I -I didn't see anything at all. Only that flash just now. What…"

He looked up sharply at Takeru.

"What did your crest react to?"

Takeru stood up, not remembering having fallen to his knees. He looked down. His crest was blazing with light under his shirt. Its energy rushed through him, both invigorating and exhausting. He did not want to answer Koushiro. How could he describe what he had felt?

He didn't have to.

"It's the dark ocean…" Ken moaned into his hands. "I've been dreaming about it for weeks."

Hikari inhaled sharply. When it looked like she wasn't going to say anything further, Taichi fixed her with a firm stare.

"I- I think I have been too," hhe admitted quietly. "I didn't know for sure that's what it was, but it felt the same just now…"

There was a pause.

Takeru wrung his fingers. These two seemed to have more intimate knowledge of this darkness than he did. Holyangemon's portal opened there, yes, but it had always looked like such an awful place that they had never even entertained the idea of investigating further. But if they were right, and that corruption and darkness was from the dark ocean… why did it remind him of Dakuyagimon?

The chosen of hope dared to look back in the direction of the distortion. His crest had pushed the darkness back, yes, but already he could feel it oozing back in their direction.

Yamato seemed to read his mind.

"We can talk whatever this is out somewhere else. Let's get the hell out of here before something else happens."

* * *

Everyone was shaken, sitting around Koushiro's bedroom in the wake of Ken's story.

"You've actually been to the dark ocean? Did you see any creatures while you were there? Anything that could help us understand what could be happening?" Koushiro asked tersely. "The way you all described eyes staring at you gives the impression that there is something living there that wants to get out."

Ken clenched trembling hands in his lap.

"There was… There was nothing. It was just beach. As far as I could see. My memory back then is really fuzzy, but I don't remember seeing anything alive."

"And neither of you have seen anything in your dreams?" The chosen of knowledge pressed, getting pushback in the form of a warning look from Taichi.

Ken shook his head.

"I never see much of anything. I'm just running, but I keep falling in the sand and the waves splash me. It- it doesn't sound so bad… but there is an overwhelming feeling of fear the whole time. Like I'm going to get caught," he sighed lowly, Daisuke patting his back.

Hikari sipped her cup of water slowly. She had surprised them all by being the one to get sick when they got back, despite how green Ken had been.

"There's no one in mine either. But, I'm not at the beach. I think I'm…I'm in a cage. There's water all over the place, and I can't see the sky… The water starts coming higher, but I always wake up before anything really happens. I don't see how that's helpful," she said breathlessly.

Takeru flinched when Koushiro addressed him.

"You haven't had any nightmares about this place? You're sure?"

The blond boy wanted everyone to stop looking at him like that.

He shook his head, not looking at anyone in return. The warmth of his crest had faded before they reached the TV, leaving him tired and wanting nothing more than to bury himself in a mountain of blankets. He couldn't get the memory of the sour air out of his head. Or the feeling of being _watched_.

The chosen of hope pressed his face into Patamon's fur. If the others were still talking, he let the words go in one ear and out the other. He should be listening, but all he could hear was screaming ringing in his ears and Dakuyagimon's roar. Takeru wanted to go home.

He wasn't sure if he had nodded off, but Yamato's hand was suddenly brushing through his hair. His brother's soft voice was close to his ear. "Teeks, we're going now, okay? We're all going to meet up tomorrow and figure this out."

Takeru lifted tired eyes to his onii-chan's own stressed face.

"Come on, let’s get to bed. Its past eleven." He helped Takeru get to his feet, taking Patamon from him and letting the little digimon sit on his own shoulder instead.

Koushiro's voice floated out from the bedroom as the group dispersed.

"I'm sorry…"

Takeru squeezed his eyes shut and pressed himself as close to Yamato as he could. They were curled together on the bottom bunk, both Patamon and Gabumon at the end of the bed. He was so tired, but he doubted he would be sleeping anytime soon. His mind was going a million miles an hour, and none if his thoughts were positive or productive.

He felt his brother's jaw move on top of his head when he broke the silence.

"Who's Dakuyagimon?"

Takeru held his breath. There was no way on earth Yamato would believe he was sleeping. There was no getting out of answering.

He swallowed, forcing his mind away from the smell of smoke.

"The digimon… the one I said where things went bad. When Holyangemon evolved."

Yamato pulled the blankets higher around him. He understood Takeru's tone. That story was for another day.

Takeru frowned as a new thought niggled at him. He had no idea if Yamato even had an answer for it, but he'd never find out if he didn't ask.

"Onii-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did only my crest react? Doesn't Hikari have the crest of light? I would have thought her's would act first…"

Yamato's resigned reply sent his mind reeling.

"We don't have our crests anymore."

Takeru was definitely not going to sleep tonight.


	8. In the Light

When Koushiro finished talking, Sora leaned back on the couch cushions, disturbed by the story he told. How were they supposed to fight someone if they didn't know who the enemy was? She picked at her fingernail, thinking hard. Ken and Hikari's nightmares, the damp feeling they described in the woods… and something that could watch them from another world. To say it was unsettling would be the understatement of the century.

"Do any of you know of anything that could be helpful?" The chosen of knowledge asked his guests.

Miyako and Iori looked at each other, holding their partners in their laps. Iori frowned, his young face lined with stress.

"The only thing I can think of that could relate back to the dark ocean is that whirlpool we saw near Ken's base. There was something… wrong about it. I felt sick just being near it."

Upamon turned to look up at him.

"Yeah, that place was awful. We didn't stick around to check it out."

Miyako hummed thoughtfully.

"Holsmon and I flew over it for just a moment, but I agree, I got pretty nauseated even being up in the air… You'd have to ask Ken more about it."

Koushiro typed notes on his laptop, Tentomon peering over at it from his place on the table.

"He mentioned it last night, but only briefly. I guess it could be a natural weak point in the world's barriers, if it was around before Blackwargreymon was created," he muttered. "Anything else?"

Mimi shook her head tearfully.

"I'm so sorry we weren't there to help. Sora and I didn't get your message until we were on our way home from the movies. You all had gone to the digital world by then."

Koushiro looked to her, sighing.

"It’s okay, Mimi. I doubt having more people there would have helped the situation. Consider yourself lucky, it wasn't fun-"

"Oh."

Her friends stopped and turned to Sora.

"Sorry, it’s just, I remembered something." Koushiro nodded for her to continue. "Back when we were fighting the dark masters, Yamato and I were off searching for Takeru. We hadn't found him and we were both having a – well, a hard time with it. At one point we were walking across this boulder field, I don't think we'd spoken in hours… And eventually we found ourselves in a cave. Neither of us remembered entering it. Piyomon said it slowly formed around us. But it felt a little like the darkness you described. Cold and damp. It felt like the cave was sucking all the energy out of us, and we couldn't bring ourselves to care. It took so long for Piyomon and Gabumon to convince us to get up. When they did, the cave vanished, and all that was left was this weird swirl of black fog. We got away from it as fast as we could…" She tailed off, trying to repress the feelings of hopelessness that had pressed in on her from all sides.

Koushiro tapped a pen on his knee, chewing over the information.

"I wonder if you stumbled on a natural portal. If you kept walking through the cave, would you have ended up in the dark ocean? Hm, but if that were the case, why couldn't whoever is trying to get through use that as an access point? Ugh, I hate not having enough information."

Sora's stomach squirmed. Somehow that idea made the memory even more disquieting.

Mimi saved her from dwelling on it any longer.

"Where are the others, Koushiro? I thought this meeting was for everyone?"

Koushiro rubbed his eyes. Sora squashed down the instinct to ask how he was feeling. From the bags under his eyes, it was clear he had gotten little sleep that night.

"I told them to come after lunch. Let them sleep in late if they could. I felt bad for dragging them out so late at night, and then after what happened… Some people are not very happy with me. I know Jyou is checking in on Hikari this morning to make sure that she isn't running a fever after throwing up. I'm surprised Taichi wasn't on the warpath last night. Daisuke said Ken was going to sleep over his place so he could keep an eye on him. And I'll be honest, I'm not entirely looking forward to seeing Yamato. He's really worried about Takeru. The whole time we were talking after we got back, Takeru just sat in the corner. He barely said a word. And you remember," he said to Sora and Mimi. "He's usually pretty talkative, even when he's upset… Or at least he used to be."

Sora's heart hurt for them.

* * *

Daisuke and Ken were the first to arrive, both looking tired. Ken and Koushiro spoke in whispered tones while the others caught up with Daisuke. Sora sat with Mimi, not as close with the younger team as she would like to be. She wasn't intentionally eavesdropping, but the chosen of love distinctly heard that Ken had woken up screaming twice overnight.

Taichi, Hikari and Jyou showed up not long afterward, Hikari pale and quiet. Koushiro gently inquired about her condition, and Jyou confirmed that she was plenty healthy, just tired. Taichi hissed that he was been up with her off and on all night, comforting her from constant nightmares.

Miyako dragged the chosen of light over to the couch and dropped her next to Sora. The older girl had to smile. She was glad Hikari had made some good girl friends her own age. Reaching over, she put a reassuring arm around the smaller girl's shoulders. Miyako was obviously doing her best to keep Hikari's mind occupied, as she spun off onto a long winded tale about one of the boys in her math class.

Pinned between two of her best friends, Hikari slowly relaxed, resting her head on Sora's arm more.

It was another half an hour before the door opened again. Sora could practically feel Koushiro cringe as Yamato marched in. He looked beyond irritated, and beside him, Takeru was clearly dead on his feet.

"How did you two sleep?" Koushiro asked meekly. Even in the face of a dangerous Ishida, Koushiro still had to get information. Sora knew he was really asking if Takeru had the same nightmares Hikari and Ken did.

Yamato's face was thunderous.

"He didn't."

Oh dear.

Yamato stomped his way over to where Taichi and Koushiro stood, hovering around the laptop. It took Sora a moment to realize Takeru had not followed his brother. He was still standing by the door. The boy didn't seem to know what to do with himself, and Sora was suddenly struck by the thought that this was the first time the whole group had gotten together since he came home. The poor thing probably wasn't sure where exactly he belonged. The original group had moved on without him, and though the new team was closer to his age, so far he'd had very little time to get to know them.

That would not do.

"Takeru," she called gently, waving her free hand.

The chosen of hope perked up a tiny amount when he saw her, coming over to the couch. Mimi had vacated her spot on Sora's other side to talk to Jyou, so Takeru took it now.

"Hey, honey, how are you feeling?" If it were almost anyone else, she wouldn't have dared to ask, but Takeru had always tolerated her mother henning more than the other boys.

Up close she could see how tired he was. His movements were listless. There were shadows under his eyes. The boy let Patamon crawl onto the arm of the couch before turning back to her and shrugging.

"I'm okay. Onii-chan and I were up talking most of the night. He fell asleep at like, four in the morning. But I just… couldn't sleep," he replied quietly.

The older girl did not like seeing his face so troubled.

"Did Yamato give you this?" She tapped the brim of the baseball cap he was wearing.

A small smile quirked at his lips and he took the hat off, turning it over and looking happily at it.

"No, actually Dad did. He said he owed me three years of birthday presents, but I told him I'd let him off the hook if he got me a hat." He looked up at her with curious blue eyes. "You're not wearing your hat anymore, did it get too small too?"

Sora laughed lightly.

"Yeah, it did. I had another one for a little while, a yellow one. But then there was this big stupid thing with Taichi and hairclips, and I guess I stopped wearing hats for a while and never got back into the habit."

Takeru's face scrunched up in confusion.

"Okay?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Sora saw Yamato straighten quickly. He looked around the room frantically for a moment or two, before settling his gaze in her direction. She gave him a little wave and he deflated, shooting her a thankful smile and turning away again. The chosen of love was proud to know that Yamato still trusted her with his little brother.

"Ken, Hikari, could you come here for a second?" Koushiro called across the room.

They all looked in his direction.

"Sorry, Miyako. I'll be right back." Hikari rose from the couch and hurried over to her brother and friend. Miyako huffed and followed more slowly.

Sora was not sure what to make of the odd look on Takeru's face as he watched them walk away.

"Is something wrong, Takeru?" She wondered aloud.

The blond boy blinked a few times, seeming to think about it, but not taking his eyes away from their target.

"I… I don't know. I was really happy to meet Hikari, and I've seen her a few times since I got back, but we haven't talked much. I don't understand why, but … every time I see her I feel like I let her down somehow." He pulled his knees up and crossed his arms over them.

"What?" A new voice interrupted Sora's thoughts.

They both looked up. Daisuke stood in front of them, face serious.

When neither of them replied, he asked again.

"What do you mean by that? You feel like you let her down?" The boy sounded disconcerted.

Sora looked between the two chosen, not sure what was going on.

"I'm not sure. I just do." Takeru absently stroked Patamon's fur as the digimon slept. "Why?"

Daisuke bit his lip, fidgeting with nervous energy.

"It’s weird," he murmured. "Ken said the exact same thing a while ago. He couldn't explain it either."

Sora's eyebrows flew up. That was strange indeed.

They were stopped from continuing their conversation when Taichi called for everyone's attention. Daisuke sent one last uncomfortable look at Takeru before joining Ken by the table.

"All right, everyone. We've gathered as much information as we can about this new situation," Koushiro addressed the room full of chosen and their partners.

"There is some entity from the dark ocean attempting to enter the digital world through one of the distortions left behind by Blackwargreymon. Though there should be no way for it to get through, its influences do seem to be able to seep through the barrier. It is obviously malevolent. We're not sure if it's targeting Ken and Hikari specifically, or if they're more sensitive to the darkness.

"Unfortunately, we don't know much more than that. I've got some theories about the other potential natural weak points in the digital barrier that some of you described, but there isn't enough to make a hypothesis," He pinched the bridge of his nose before continuing. "In the past, I would try to contact Gennai, but as we know that's not possible anymore… We can attempt to contact his counterparts and see if any of them will help us out here."

Next to her, Takeru made a noise of confusion.

Koushiro focused on him then, a bit more energy in his voice.

"Takeru, did you ever come across any of Gennai's counterparts when you were traveling? The other groups must have had some contact with them. Do you know how we could get in touch with one?"

Sora's heart dropped into her stomach when Takeru responded, wide-eyed.

"Koushiro, I have no idea what you're talking about. If I ever found another Gennai, don't you think I'd have asked him to take me back?"

The silence was thick in the room. The younger group looked around worriedly at the disturbed faces the original group sported. Sora's heart pulsed unpleasantly in her ears. None of them wanted to address what that could possibly mean.

"Okay, is there anyone else we could ask for help then?" Taichi asked worriedly.

Everyone sat another minute more, wracking their brains.

The answer came from the unlikeliest of places.

"Could we contact the digital guardians?" Upamon hopped up onto the coffee table.

Koushiro leaned forward amongst the muttering of his friends.

"The digital guardians, who are they?"

"They protect the digital world, of course! But I don't think anyone has seen them in a long long time…"

Upamon looked to Poromon for confirmation. The little bird digimon was thoughtful, answering slowly. "They're legends. Four guardians to protect the four directions of the world."

Koushiro, and quite a few others, were baffled by this information.

"That sounds like Kyoto," Miyako said. "My class just went there on a trip a few weeks ago, and I bumped into your dad, remember, Sora?"

The chosen of love was startled at suddenly being addressed, but nodded.

"You told me you'd seen him, yes."

"Yeah, he was telling me all about the four guardians that protect Kyoto from evil spirits. One for each direction. Are you saying that the digital world has something similar?" she asked her partner.

Poromon and Upamon nodded.

"But how would we talk to them if no one has seen them in so long? To the point where they're just legends? I can't email a legend!" The chosen of knowledge sounded overwhelmed.

The two small digimon looked at each other, completely at a loss.

"Isn't there a temple?" Demiveemon piped up from Daisuke's arms. "Up on top of the tallest mountain in the east? I think I remember that part because it sounded so cool!"

Koushiro turned to Tentomon, infinite questions in his eyes.

"Don't look at me, I have never heard of these legends. Sorry, Koushiro."

"How about you, Gabumon?" Yamato asked from where he was leaning on the back of the couch.

The striped digimon shook his head.

"Sorry, Yamato. I haven't heard any of this either."

Sora inwardly sighed, wishing she had Piyomon here to ask as well.

"So, you said there is a temple on top of a mountain, Demiveemon? Do you know anything else?" the redhead asked.

"Well, the temple is up high near the sky because the eastern guardian is made of lightning!" the baby digimon squeaked excitedly, waving his arms around.

Daisuke's mouth dropped open.

"I can't decide is that is the most amazing thing I have ever heard, or the scariest."

* * *

Cold air buffeted Sora as she held onto Birdramon tightly. It hadn't taken Koushiro very long to pinpoint the highest mountain in the eastern range. There had been a bit of an outcry at setting out for it immediately. So much of the group was exhausted, wouldn't it be more responsible to wait a day to rest? The chosen of knowledge had wasted no time in showing everyone the energy spikes from the distortion. Though there had not been a spike anywhere near as significant as the one from last night, they were becoming increasingly frequent.

Who knew if they had time to wait?

She took a moment to rest her forehead on her partner's smooth leg. The last twenty-four hours had been a whirlwind. The girl had seriously thought that after Blackwargreymon was destroyed, their troubles would be over for a while.

"Are you okay, Sora?" Gommamon called over the wind.

The teen had to smile down at the digimon she held in one arm. Jyou was not as used to riding Birdramon as she was, and needed both hands to hold on to the bird's other leg. Sora had offered to hang on to Gommamon until they landed.

"I'm fine, it’s just a lot to wrap my head around," She said truthfully.

"Sora! The others are all landing. The air is getting too thin to fly!" her partner called back to them. Sora could tell she was straining to keep them in the air.

The landing was a little rougher than she was used to, but they all landed without mishap.

Taichi grimaced at the group around him.

"I guess we climb from here… We aren't that far from the top, I could see the peak while we were in the air," He tried to sound optimistic.

It turned out 'not that far' was a lot farther when the air was so thin. And when three quarters of their group had barely slept the night before. They had to stop every few minutes or so to let someone catch their breath. The landscape wasn't entirely unfriendly at least, the ground under their feet was firm and solid. It would have been a disaster if the mountainside were covered in loose gravel or slippery stones.

Takeru and Hikari were having a particularly hard time of it. Hikari didn't seem to be able to catch her breath even with frequent rest stops, and it turned out Takeru had been so upset this morning that he hadn't been able to eat breakfast. Yamato pulled him up the mountain by the hand for twenty minutes or so before declaring that this whole thing was idiotic. He had Gabumon evolve and Takeru, Hikari, and Iori rode the rest of the way up. Iori's legs were so much shorter than everyone else's that he was huffing and puffing nearly as hard as Hikari. It had taken a long time to convince him to ride, but everyone could tell how relieved he was at not having to walk anymore. Mimi was offered the last spot on Garurumon's back, but she declined. She said that all the cheerleading she had been doing was increasing her endurance.

They made the rest of the trek in an hour, finally cresting the mountaintop.

Sora gasped at what she saw. Even without the temple, the view was stunning. The clear blue sky surrounded them on all sides, mountains and valleys stretching out in all directions for as far as the eye could see. The air was cold, nipping at her fingers and nose, but it was shockingly still. Besides the sounds of footsteps and labored breathing, there was almost no noise at all up here.

And then there was the temple.

Sora wasn't sure what she was expecting, but the girl hadn't pictured this. It had no walls or roof.

Worn cobblestones formed a flat platform at knee height, off white and incredibly level. The platform itself was not a square, and the girl assumed it was an octagon until she counted and found there were not eight, but nine sides. Each corner had a tall pillar of stacked stones twice as high as any of them stood.

In the very center of the platform was a huge, perfectly spherical grey stone. It was as smooth as marble, shining on the afternoon sunlight. Around it was a thick gold metal band, carved with what Sora recognized as digi-code.

It was pulling at her. At all of them, by the way the others also walked towards it in a daze.

They stepped up onto the platform in reverence.

Koushiro's voice snapped Sora out of her stupor.

"This place is amazing… But how do we summon the eastern guardian?" He directed his question towards Armadimon, V-mon, and Hawkmon.

The three digimon exchanged a blank look.

"I don't remember anything about bringing the guardian to the temple…just that this is where he or she is supposed to be." Armadimon shook his head.

Sora found herself disheartened. After all that, no one knew how to talk with the guardian? Had this whole venture been for nothing, and they were back to square one?

"Maybe…" Taichi pulled out his digivice and stared hard at it. "What if we all point our digivices at it? They've been able to do interesting things in the past, and there's really no harm in trying, right?"

He looked at the group like he wanted someone to tell him he wasn't crazy.

"It's the best shot we've got. It's certainly not a bad idea, Taichi," Koushiro agreed.

Feeling a little excited, Sora took her place around the stone. They stood in a circle around it and pulled out their digivices, waiting for Taichi's word.

"Okay guys, now!"

Sora thrust her digivice towards the stone, praying for a miracle…

Three seconds.

Five seconds.

Fifteen seconds passed.

"Um, maybe we need to point them at the sky? V-mon said it was a sky guardian?" Iori suggested.

"Okay, that makes sense," Koushiro mumbled. "Alright, everyone, point them up."

They followed his lead, raising their digivices to the clear blue sky.

Sora waited.

Someone giggled.

"This is stupid," Yamato grumbled, walking away.

Sora hated to agree, but she felt rather foolish as well. She tried to force the blush out of her cheeks before anyone noticed.

"Um, okay, well that didn't work," Taichi announced unnecessarily, looking around to Koushiro.

The chosen of knowledge crossed his arms, staring at the holy rock.

"I'll figure something out, guys. Just hang out for a bit and I'll… We'll make this work."

The chosen kids spent the next ten minutes investigating the mountaintop. Legs tired from the hike, the chosen of love chose to sit on a mossy patch not far from where Koushiro set up his laptop. Piyomon perched beside her, resting her head on Sora's knee.

"Hey, Koushiro?" Takeru and Yamato were making their way over to the frustrated teen.

Koushiro's head popped up in their direction.

"Hi, Takeru. Do you feel something?" There was suddenly hope in his voice.

Takeru snuck a look at Patamon on his shoulder before answering. He crouched down next to the older boy, sounding apologetic.

"Actually? I don't feel anything here. Like at all. It’s completely neutral."

Koushiro dropped his head in his hands, groaning.

"So, you don't think the guardian is trapped inside the stone and we need to-"

An exasperated yell snapped their attention to the center of the temple.

"Are you shitting me, Daisuke? It's a holy relic!" Miyako waved her arms around in agitation.

The other chosen scoffed, hand outstretched towards the stone.

"For heaven's sake, it's a rock! I'm not going to hurt it," Daisuke retorted.

They lurched to their feet as Daisuke made contact. Sora's heart lodged in her throat.

Several things happened very quickly.

Miyako and the others close to the stubborn boy jumped back as Daisuke's clothes suddenly whipped around as if caught in a gale.

Takeru gave a cry of surprise and took a half step back as if he'd been struck.

Sora ran, ready to defend her friends, but before she could reach the platform, Takeru was sprinting forward.

"Teeks, wait!" Yamato grabbed at him too slow.

Yet the chosen of hope did not tackle Daisuke away from the stone like Sora expected. Instead, he slapped both his hands to the surface of it as well. Instantly, his hair and clothes were caught in the invisible storm. His new hat went flying off his head, flopping to the floor a dozen feet back.

He was laughing. Ridiculous bubbling laughter escaped him as he and Daisuke found each other's eyes. The dark-haired boy started laughing along, thoroughly enjoying whatever sensation the stone was causing.

Sora sagged against Yamato at the sight.

"What the hell…?" Her blond friend breathed.

"Come on, guys! This is awesome!" Daisuke called loudly. "It’s so warm!"

Sora and the others crept toward the center of the temple hesitantly. If Takeru could sense darkness, and he was comfortable touching the thing, it should be safe, right?

The girl exchanged nervous glances with Mimi and reached out her hand.

"Together?" Her friend whispered.

Sora nodded.

They touched the stone.

Instantly, the chill of the mountaintop was gone, replaced by a warm wind like that of a summer's day at the beach. The stone was almost hot under her hand, but not enough to burn. The wind tugged at her hair and pushed at her with enough force that she had to widen her stance to stay in place. But of all the sensations the stone gave her, it was the overwhelming peace and joy that sang in her heart that was the most astonishing.

She opened her eyes and squinted against the wind. The others were one by one carefully touching the stone as well. Finally, just Jyou and Iori stood by anxiously, each unwilling to take the next step. Mimi reached out her other hand at the same time Hikari did, and the two of them grasped at the boys and pulled them closer.

Sora knew the moment they made contact. The stone suddenly blazed with light under their hands, sending a pillar of shining white light into the sky.

Clouds rushed in from nowhere, blanketing the blue sky with darkness. A fierce gust blew in from the east, bringing with it the smell of rain. Lightning flashed and something gigantic descended from the clouded sky.

Holy mackerel, it was a _dragon_.

Sora's jaw dropped in awe as a mile-long blue dragon dipped in and out of the clouds. Her heart thudded in her chest, but she felt no fear. The dragon circled around above the temple before lowering his massive head in their direction. He had no visible mouth, but she felt his words in her very chest.

 _Greetings, my chosen. You have come at last_.


	9. Balance

Hikari's knees nearly gave out at the sheer size of the dragon winding his way through the clouds above. She had seen massive digimon before, after all, Venommyotismon had been as tall as a skyscraper, but there was something about the guardian's presence that was so much more awe inspiring.

It was clear she was not the only one to think so, as most of their partners scampered forward, stars in their eyes at the sight of the great beast. Those that could fly fluttered up to get a closer look, sounds of delight echoing back down to the ground.

A rumble shook in Hikari's chest. A chuckle, she realized, coming from the magnificent dragon.

"Greetings to you as well, my chosen digimon. You have done well in guarding your partners this far, and for that, I thank you." He snaked his head down closer to where they still stood in shock around the holy stone. "I am Quinglongmon, guardian of the east. It brings me joy to see you all here, despite the circumstances. I am afraid the situation is more dire than any of you understand."

The chosen of light felt cold was over her, both at the ominous words, and from having dropped her hand from the warm stone in surprise.

To her left, Taichi stepped forward.

"We've come to ask for your help, Quinglongmon. There is something from the dark ocean trying to enter the digital world," he said, his voice strong.

Hikari's heart swelled with affection for her brother.

"Indeed there is. I have been monitoring the digital world's relationship with the dark ocean for years. You must act quickly, before there is irreversible damage done to both worlds."

Hikari and the others stepped closer to each other, clustered behind their partners. The young girl hovered at her older brother's elbow, anxiety growing under her skin.

"Its relationship?" Koushiro asked.

The guardian gave a small nod.

"The dark ocean, the digital world, and your world are intimately connected. When computers were created on Earth, the grounds for the digital world were established. As technology advanced, the digital world grew as well, and digimon soon started to appear. Our world is always changing, and as it is made of easily manipulated data, it is vulnerable. That is why the other guardians and I chose to create the chosen children and partner them with creatures from our own world. By sharing your energy, you are capable of protecting our borders from those who wish harm upon the inhabitants." He paused, looking over the faces below him. "The dark ocean was likewise created by human technology. It was meant to be a resting place for corrupted files, deleted programs, and other failed technology from Earth, as well as for digimon that had died during evolution."

The chosen of knowledge was bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"So, the dark ocean functions like the recycling bin on a computer?"

Hikari smiled at the intense focus on her friend's face.

"That comparison is not far off," Quinglongmon acknowledged. "The dark ocean was a peaceful world until recently. I have spoken to the other guardians and we have not yet determined the cause, but the corrupted files entering that world have banded together and merged with the deleted digimon's data. A creature has awoken. One that is incredibly powerful. We cannot confirm our suspicions, but we believe that it wants to merge all three worlds together."

Hikari's mind was reeling. Merge all three worlds? It would be chaos. She shivered slightly, and her brother wrapped a warm arm around her shoulders. Tailmon rubbed against her leg comfortingly.

"That is an awful scenario." She heard Koushiro gulp. Behind him, Jyou was starting to sweat.

"If that were all it was, there would be little danger. The creature, under normal circumstances, could not break through the barriers between worlds. It should be trapped in the dark ocean. However…"

The girl as not sure she had ever hated that word so much.

"I must tell you all, this is something the guardians have done our best to keep secret. If the following information were to fall into the wrong hands, it would be too easy to defeat any group of chosen. We fear that the entity in the dark ocean has at least some knowledge of what I am to tell you, or has otherwise figured some of it out."

Quinglongmon sunk lower in the air, closer, though still at least a dozen feet over their heads.

"It was I who chose you, and I who chose your crests. Yet not all the crests were created equal. The other guardians and I decided that one crest in each team would hold more power than the others. A Source Crest, as you will. One that could share its energy, invigorate weakened digimon, allow a higher level of stability in its partner. It would be indestructible. Surely, it would ensure the protection of its chosen group."

Hikari's heart pounded as everyone's eyes came to stare at her. There was no way she could be that powerful, that important. Yet she was the only one with an Adult partner. The only one who had ever inspired another's digimon to evolve…

"The crest of light is your Source Crest. With all that power came a vulnerability that only occurred to us afterward. With its indestructability came the fear that in the wrong hands, it could become a weapon of mass destruction. It could never be destroyed, but it could be corrupted. This could not be allowed. And so, we guardians created another. A counter to the Source Crest. The Shield Crest. One that could never be corrupted. That could purify the Source Crest if it were ever apprehended by evil."

At that, everyone looked around. Hikari had no idea who that could be-

Oh. The shining lights in the cave sparkled in her mind's eye.

"The crest of hope is the original Shield Crest. And that is where the trouble began," Quinglongmon sighed, blowing everyone's hair wildly.

Takeru looked upset, holding Patamon to his chest. Yamato stood partially in front of him, as if he could defend his little brother from the guardian's words. Sora was on his other side, her hand on his shoulder.

"Gennai could not have understood the consequences of his actions. By sending you so far from your group, Takeru, he took you from under my protection. Took you from your paired Source Crest. I could not reach you in Baihumon's realm. For months, I hoped you would find a way to return. For months, I hoped that no one would find out that there was a chosen group without its Shield. Then Baihumon informed me that Holyangemon had opened a portal to the dark ocean. He alerted me to the fact that there was an entity there; one that was watching from the other side. I am sorry, Takeru, but you exposed yourself as separated from your team, and in doing so, exposed their vulnerability."

"He was just trying to get back to us!" Yamato yelled. "You can't blame him if he didn't know what was going on!"

Hikari felt awful for Takeru. He was shaking his head, blue eyes wide.

"I am not placing the blame on your brother, Yamato. There is not a single one of us here who is blameless for the current state of things. You see, the next mistake was mine. In my haste to protect the crest of light, I created a second Shield Crest. And for what happened because of my fear, Ken, I apologize."

To her right, Ken froze, his face paling rapidly.

"I created another digivice, and the crest of kindness. I guided you into the digital world to meet with Wormmon, but could not have foreseen your incident with the dark spore. I had not yet realized that by not immediately uniting you with your team, I placed a target on your back. When you were healthy enough to enter the digital world a second time, the creature in the dark ocean corrupted the portal and dragged you to the dark ocean instead. I thought for sure he would kill you." Quinglongmon shook his head in sorrow.

Hikari was shaking lightly, Taichi tightening his arm around her. How could the creature in the dark ocean have been powerful enough to pull Ken in all those years ago? It must be horrifyingly powerful by now.

"But it didn't! And you said the Shield Crests couldn't be corrupted!" Daisuke called from beside his best friend.

"I believe that with the dark spore and a dark digivice, the creature must have thought Ken would be more useful as a tool than he would be dead. He could not corrupt the crest of kindness, but the exposure to the dark water was enough to render it dormant. You have never been able to activate it, correct?"

Hikari blinked. She had never even thought of the fact that Wormmon had never achieved Perfect, despite having the crest. The rest of them didn't have theirs anymore… Her stomach rolled at the thought. The girl was terrified to think she knew where this was going, and it was not good.

"And so, with one shield far away, and the other inactive, the entity set his sights on the rest of you. I do not know if he wanted all the crests to weaken you, or if he was solely looking for the Source Crest. He managed to send you a message, my chosen, and you responded by sending him your crests."

They staggered back at the accusation. At the comprehension of what they'd done. Hikari felt sick. She covered her mouth with trembling hands. They'd given their crests to a monster from another world. She'd willingly handed it the most powerful weapon they had…

The others were in an uproar.

"He said he was one of Gennai's counterparts!"

"How were we supposed to know he was lying?"

"The message said the digital world was in danger!"

"He said the crests were to protect the digital world!"

"It matters not how he tricked you. The past cannot be changed. The fact is that the creature in the dark ocean is in possession of seven of the nine crests. With the crest of light in his hands, it is likely consumed with darkness, corrupting the powers it contains."

A hot tear dripped off Hikari's chin. She felt Miyako slip her hand into her own and squeeze.

"The only thing that could stop him was the crest of hope. It could purify the darkness from the crest of light, and he would be in danger of being defeated if Takeru were to return. And so, he set his eyes on you once more. He snuck tendrils of darkness through a natural weak spot in the barrier and corrupted the most powerful digimon he could reach. He sent Dakuyagimon to destroy the last thing standing in his way. Zhuqiaomon told me of what occurred."

Sora wrapped herself around Takeru while Yamato and many of the others stared in shock at them. Takeru raked his hands through his hair, gasping breaths escaping him. Patamon snuggled against his cheek. The boy didn't notice either attempts to console him.

"But all those digimon… So many kids lost their partners! It was- He was there for me? I shouldn't have even-" Takeru broke off with a choked sob.

Hikari looked away, curling into Taichi's arms. She felt wretched. The chosen of light had no idea what that battle had been like, but it was obviously traumatic for the boy. A part of her couldn't help but feel like it was her fault. The Source Crest was hers. She was the one who had agreed to give it up. And because of her actions, Takeru had been brutally attacked. She had barely gotten to know the kid, but she liked him. He was so bright, and he seemed to bring happiness wherever he went. It was possible that she felt drawn to him because their crests were tied… but so were her's and Ken's, she supposed. Was her connection with Ken not as strong because his crest was dormant? Or did she just prefer Takeru's presence over the darker haired boy's? He'd been so sweet when they met, hugging and apologizing for not being around to help her.

Taichi's loud voice in her ear startled her.

"But he couldn't kill Takeru. He didn't. Takeru defeated Dakuyagimon and made it to Mega." He sounded adamant, a hint of pride under the sternness.

"Indeed he could _not_ ," Quinglongmon said emphatically, and Hikari swore she heard a smile in his booming tone. "The creature in the dark ocean is powerful, but it appeared he does not know of a critical law governing the digital world. That balance rules over the land. Where there is light, there will always be darkness. Neither is capable of being completely destroyed. When one rises up, the other will rise to match it. When the creature received your crests and darkness rose, there was only one outlet for the light to take to match it in power. Light surged to the crest of hope, triggering Seraphimon's evolution. That amount of power was overwhelming for one child to hold. I believe it left some interesting side effects, didn't it?"

Hikari peeked back at Takeru, who was stock still and staring up at the guardian, his cheeks blotchy.

"I passed out…" he whispered.

"So Takeru's ability to sense things is tied to the current levels of darkness? If the entity were defeated and normal levels of balance achieved, he would lose that sense?" Koushiro theorized.

The dragon digimon hummed, the vibration making Hikari's teeth chatter.

"I expect so… Though this has never happened before, so there is no way to tell."

A thought struck her like a lightning bolt, and she pushed away from Taichi for a moment, startling him as well.

"Takeru's digi-egg! He was able to trigger an evolution in Tailmon even when he was on another continent, was that due to the overload as well?" she called up to the guardian.

Miyako gasped beside her.

"It was," Quinglongmon agreed. "The Shield Crest was able to reach far greater distances after that. Making contact with his egg was able to restore some of Tailmon's lost energy. She has been able to reach Perfect since then as a result. Even without the physical crest on you, the Shield Crest did what it was designed to do. However, with hope so powerful, the creature in the dark ocean must have feared Takeru would reactivate the crest of kindness as well. He used his influence to corrupt another digimon as it was being created. You all saw the result. Blackwargreymon was driven mad by the corruption and lost sight of what he was meant to do, but I believe he was sent to destroy Ken before Takeru could return."

Hikari was not sure she could wrap her head around all of this. It was all so much. Her friends all looked staggered by the amount of information thy were being given.

Iori suddenly walked forward, tilting his head back to look up at the eastern guardian.

"Quinglongmon, what about us? Why did you create the new team?"

Quinglongmon dipped his head to the small boy, somehow looking happy that he had asked.

"When it became unclear if Takeru would be able to return to Server, I knew my chosen needed help. Ken needed help. I had resolved to never again create crests, but you all would serve a different purpose. With no special powers except the ones you carry inside of yourself, you were able to break the influence the dark ocean had on Ken. I chose your partners carefully. Each of them is an ancient digimon with the powers to achieve a different kind of evolution. And in being ancient, I hoped that one of them would remember me, and bring you all here."

Armadimon, Hawkmon, and V-mon puffed up under the praise.

Iori nodded.

There was quiet for a moment as the group processed. Hikari took a deep breath, trying to focus on the smell of the earth and the cool breeze. She needed time to think all this over. To talk to Ken and Takeru. The three of them were connected…

"So, what do we do now?" Daisuke asked.

Hikari and the others looked up at the digimon sharply, anxious to hear the answer.

"The only reason a portal has not been opened up by the dark entity is that the power the crest of hope currently holds is keeping him at bay. The Source and Shield crests were not designed to combat each other. If the creature is attempting to use the crest of light to bridge the worlds, he cannot succeed until the crest of hope is either deactivated or destroyed. So, we must do _exactly_ as he fears. You will activate Ken's crest, and then you will go to him and _take back what is yours_."


	10. Resolve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HO MAN GUYS  
> I SAW THE FIRST EPISODE OF PSI AND LEMME JUST SAY I AM DIGGING THIS  
> THAT ENDING   
> HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Takeru stared down at the bowl in his hands. The cold noodles still smelled amazing, but instead of the mouth-watering scent sending his stomach growling, tonight it just churned. He closed his eyes and let his head thump back against the headboard. The boy's mind swirled with the overload of information they had taken in during the last day. How was it possible that last night he had been happily eating dinner with his brother and Jyou? It felt so long ago already.

Patamon perched on the pillow beside him, big blue eyes fixed on the noodles. His partner was mercifully silent. Takeru wasn't sure he could handle someone nagging him to finish his dinner. Gabumon sat on his other side, a solid wall of warmth and fur he was grateful for.

The chosen were waiting a day. Even after all Quinglongmon's talk of the danger being urgent, saying they needed to act fast… Koushiro and the others all agreed they needed to take some time to rest. Those of them who were running on little to no sleep had not resisted this decision in the slightest, and even those of them that had not ventured out last night were eager to take a night to process. Takeru had been shocked to see Taichi, the one that used to push and push and never hesitate, never stop, be the first to declare they all needed to wait. No one else had been taken aback by his words, and not for the first time, Takeru felt the gap between him and the others.

He poked at the noodles again. Couldn't bring himself to raise them to his mouth.

Yamato had rushed him home before he had a chance to talk to Ken or Hikari. In all honesty, he had no idea what he was going to say to them, but the three of them were linked by their crests. He barely knew Hikari, but the fact that he and Ken had been able to bond and get to know each other a bit through tutoring brought a small spark of warmth to his chest. The Shield Crests. The protectors. The purifiers. They had both failed because of the actions of others. The Source Crest was almost assuredly corrupted.

The boy twitched at the thought of Daisuke's words earlier. That Ken also felt like he had let Hikari down. At least they knew why now, though _how_ the two boys were supposed to know that they had a job in the first place was beyond him. How were they expected to fulfill their roles as Shield Crests without knowing about it? Hikari had yelled something about a digiegg? His crest restored some of Tailmon's lost power? He had no idea what they were talking about, but he could only guess that he had somehow helped without even being aware of it.

Takeru shut his eyes and sighed. This was ridiculous. He had stayed positive when he was lost and alone in the digital world, and now that he was home and had everything he had yearned for so badly… The boy tried to push through the crushing feeling in his chest and see the light. All was not lost. He was their last hope, and he had a job to do. Purify Ken's crest. He could do what Jyou said last night. Take it one day at a-

The blond boy jumped, eyes flying open at the loud noise from the kitchen. Patamon crawled onto his shoulder and whispered that he should finish eating.

His partner barely registered that he spoke, wide eyes fixed on the closed bedroom door.

The voices that came from beyond it were getting more and more agitated.

"I don't care! She didn't believe me for years! She left us! Why should we tell her anything now?"

Takeru curled his toes under the blankets, body exhausted and tense.

His father's voice was quieter, calmer, but no less stressed.

"That's exactly why we have to tell her what's going on. Your mother is actually making an effort to be here. To be involved. She wants you both back in her life. Don't ruin that by lying to her."

"No, she wants Takeru back. It was always about him! After he was gone she wanted nothing to do with me and you know it!"

Takeru froze, hands shaking around the bowl he couldn't seem to put down. No… There was no way Mom didn't love Yamato. She had to. Against his will, snippets of life before the digital world snuck into his mind. He always came here to visit his onii-chan and Dad. Mom never talked on the phone with Oni-chan like he had with Dad. She never talked about him unless Takeru brought the topic of his brother up first. She never…

"Don't do that to yourself, Yamato.” Takeru had never heard his father so serious. "Your mother cares about you, she's just shit at showing it. Grief messes people up, and yes, she left us. I'm not denying that, but you can't do this. It’s not fair to you. It’s not fair to anyone. If your mom wants to try and have a better relationship with you, please let her try. Don't mess up her potential relationship with your brother because you're mad at her. If Takeru doesn't want to tell her, so be it, but don't make that decision for him."

Heart stuck in his throat, Takeru hardly dared to breathe. Their family had been broken long before he was lost to them, but he had hoped against hope that maybe his parents would unite in their loss. For Yamato. He never expected them to get married again exactly, but… Since he'd returned he had been assaulted with evidence that screamed the opposite. Leaving for so long seemed to have shredded whatever happiness had remained.

He didn't hear the end of the argument, too wrapped up in his own miserable thoughts. So when the bedroom door suddenly snapped open, he started badly enough that Gabumon had to grab the bowl from his hands before he dumped the noodles all over the bedspread.

His onii-chan stood in the doorway, posture more drained than angry, despite his tone a minute before. Takeru blinked back sudden tears at the sight of his brother so defeated.

"Sorry," Yamato said quietly.

Takeru was at a loss. It was easy to be himself when everything was lighthearted. It was easy to settle back in with Dad and Yamato. It was easy to play videogames and hang out with Taichi. To eat dinner with Jyou and learn from Ken… But the moment things went downhill he no longer had any idea what he was supposed to do. Everyone lived on in the real world while he was in the digital world. He felt left behind in a way he couldn't explain. The others felt so much older than him, even these new kids who were technically the same age. The boy found himself staring in the mirror every morning, brushing his teeth and trying not to look his reflection directly in the eyes. He felt so young, but sometimes felt ages older than he should. He'd experienced so much, but he didn't feel wise. Just tired. Tired and confused as to how he was _supposed_ to feel. How things would have felt if he hadn't disappeared for so long.

He confided in Patamon that while he was overjoyed and relived to be home, he felt out of place in a world he used to be part of.

" _Just keep being you,"_ Patamon had replied.

And while Takeru _understood_ , it didn't really _help_. He knew how to act in the digital world. He wasn't sure he knew how to act here anymore.

Yamato walked over, and when his little brother didn't acknowledge him, he slumped down to the floor by the head of the bed. He rested his back against the bedframe and leaned his head back onto Gabumon's leg.

The chosen of hope tried not to squirm.

Finally, Yamato took pity on him.

"Are you going to finish that?"

Takeru blinked sluggishly down at the forever half full bowl his dad had given him nearly an hour ago. It took a few tries to get his voice to work.

"No…"

His big brother just sighed and held out his hand expectantly. Gabumon handed it over.

There was a quiet moment that had Takeru picking at a loose thread on his new pajamas. He knew what was coming.

"Teeks, you barely ate anything today."

"I know," He said in a hushed whisper.

To his shock, Yamato didn't push it. He just picked up the chopsticks and finished the noodles himself.

He'd only been home two weeks, but Takeru had never experienced tension like this in the apartment. Not even when Mom showed up the first time. All he could hear was the clinking of the chopsticks, and the muffled sounds of Dad cleaning up from dinner. It had been quieter, sure, in the middle of the night when he found himself inexplicably awake, but this quiet was a tangible thickness in the air.

Trying to escape, Takeru pulled his knees closer and buried his face in the fabric of the blanket covering them. He breathed purposefully, wishing he could skip the inevitable talking, planning, and fighting that would be the next few days. He breathed slowly, wishing he could skip ahead to next week when hopefully, everything would be over and his biggest problem would be the math worksheets Ken had given him.

On some level, he became aware that he was drifting off. His shoulders relaxed. His fists unclenched. Nonsensical colors and images blurred in his mind. The apartment faded away from his awareness. He had a brief, blessed minute of peace before the pleasant sensations were interrupted by hysterical screaming. The smell of smoke pervaded the air and he felt the ground drop from under him.

Panicked, he jolted backwards, his head slamming into something very solid. The boy gasped, clutching at the back of his head. His eyes flew open. His heart pounded and he was breathing erratically. Patamon was in his lap instantly, rubbing against his chest and chin.

Yamato was frozen, half standing next to the bed, looking startled and more than a little concerned.

Dakuyagimon was there for _him_. It was his fault. Another scream echoed in his ears.

Takeru choked, shutting his eyes against the sight of his brother. Unfortunately, closing his eyes allowed unwanted scenes to flash across his vision.

"Teeks? What- Are you okay?"

The chosen of hope tried to get a grip on himself. This hadn't happened in a while. That damn sour smell yesterday had screwed up everything.

For a second he swore he felt grass under his feet and he took a deep shuddering breath to force it away. He was in bed. At home. That digimon was dead. Had been dead for over a year.

"Takeru, what's the matter?" The mattress dipped down where his brother sat.

When Takeru didn't answer, Patamon looked up at him as if asking permission. The boy couldn't get a grasp on his voice quickly enough to say yes or no.

"After we fought Dakuyagimon… this happened a lot. Takeru would think we were still back there. It used to take forever to get him to relax…"

The eleven year old focused on the sound of his partner's voice, rubbed at the soft material in his hands. He was home. He was home. Yamato was right here.

He raised his eyes to his brother and was mildly shocked to see that there was no confusion or pity on his face. If anything, he just seemed surprised. It slowly changed to something Takeru hadn't expected at all.

Sympathy.

"You have flashbacks, Takeru?" He asked softly.

Takeru rolled the unfamiliar term around in his head. It sounded like a decently accurate word.

"If that's what they are, yeah. I hate them," he muttered shakily.

Yamato moved to the middle of the bed, sitting cross legged at Takeru's feet. He opened his mouth a few times before he managed to speak.

"I couldn't cook anything that needed to be boiled for a year and a half. I threw up any time I tried. Dad stopped letting me near the stove. We're all a little screwed up by now. Some of us more than others. It’s called Post Traumatic Stress. Dad tried to get me to go to a therapist for a while, but I refused. So, he just looked it all up himself and tried to make me better on his own. It didn't really work… probably because I was mad at him for thinking he could fix me… but I do understand some of what he was trying to say."

Takeru stared at his big brother. His onii-chan knew what this was? He understood? Takeru had never had anyone to talk about these things with… but he'd rarely had _humans_ around to talk with, honestly. Was it really that easy? The first person to find out he had this issue had it too? Not that he would wish this on anyone, let alone his brother… but he was suddenly relieved.

His mouth opened before he even processed what he was going to do.

"He came out of nowhere…"

_He'd never told anyone what happened._

"I was with seven African chosen. They were really sweet to me…"

_Because there was no one around to tell._

"We had no idea anything was wrong until he burst out of the trees. He was… huge. He took out one of the chosen digimon in one shot." His voice grew steadier. "We scattered. Dakuyagimon used flame attacks. There was so much smoke. The field was on fire. I got separated from the rest of them for a while. All the digimon started fighting, but it was hard to tell what was going on. All I knew was that it wasn't going well. And he wasn't just aiming for our partners, he was going after us too. Now I know _why_ …"

Takeru clenched his fists in the covers. Blaming himself would do nothing, but still. How could he not?

"I was hiding behind a log at the edge of the trees, and one of the attacks hit really close. I had to get away. I couldn't see the other kids but there was so much screaming. I ran but I couldn't see where I was going and I ran right off a- it wasn't like, a cliff or anything, but I fell. I dunno, it was six or eight feet? My foot really hurt and I hit my elbows pretty hard." He shook his head as if to shake the pain away. Forced his eyes back to Onii-chan's. "There was a digimon there, where I fell. He looked a lot like Garurumon. And- and he just… disappeared right in front of me. Four of the kids' digimon were deleted."

He swallowed thickly. Here's where things got fuzzy.

"I- I freaked out. I wanted to find Holyangemon, but I couldn't find him in the air. I was yelling for him? And I think I ended up running towards Dakuyagimon. He was just suddenly really close, and he was so loud. I was close enough that I could smell him. I mean, I guess he was possessed by the dark ocean, but ah, it smelled like sour fish." Takeru tried to block out the scent in his head. "Like something rotting. I was so scared and overwhelmed and everything was just _so_ _much_. I knew that digimon were dying and who, oh god, who knew about the other kids? I just wanted it to stop!"

"Hey, hey," Yamato interrupted, reaching out and pulling one of his hands from his face. "It’s okay. Calm down. We can be done if you want. It’s been a long day."

The chosen of hope caught his breath, squeezing Yamato's hand tightly. He rested his forehead against his knees for a moment before looking back up.

"I wanted it to stop…" He whispered. "I got so hot right then, and I ran right at him. I think I did, at least. I felt really weird and then everything went white. Which I guess was- you know. One of the girls shook me awake. They thought I had gotten really hurt. Everything was all blurry auras and I had such a headache. I don't remember if I threw up. The other kids were- We were all a mess. They didn't want to leave me, but they all wanted to go home. The oldest boy stayed with me overnight. His name was Ajuma. He was from Gan… Gambia? The other kids were from Senegal, I think. I can't pronounce most of their names. They tried to teach me a bunch of words, but uh, well they couldn't repeat any of my Japanese either…"

He trailed off. Ajuma had been so nice to him in spite of the battle that was apparently his fault. Dakuyagimon wouldn't have hurt them if it wasn't for him. But… no. A swirl of anger coiled in his chest for the first time. That wasn't right. It wasn't his fault that there was a crazy evil _thing_ in another world that wanted to use their crest powers to destroy. He had unwillingly exposed a weakness, but it was the enemy that was to blame for all the pain and suffering everyone had felt.

Takeru raised his eyes to his brother, who still held his hand. Yamato's brows were furrowed in worry. Worry for him.

Insecurity fled his body. If he was the one who had unintentionally started this, then damn it, he was going to finish it. He had his crest. He had Patamon. He had his brother and his team. He'd been away for a while, but he'd gotten stronger and he was back. They knew what they had to do. He was filled with determination. He would fight. They would succeed.

Takeru let go of his brother and rolled out of bed, confounding the others. He marched into the kitchen and yanked the fridge open, rooting through it. Pulling out the uneaten lunch his dad had made for him earlier, he closed the door and turned around.

Hiroaki stood at the counter, staring at him in no little amount of shock.

Takeru grabbed a pair of chopsticks and started eating right there in front of the fridge.

"Uh, hey bud?"

His father's unsure tone had him looking up, though he did not stop in his eating.

"You're um, glowing."

Takeru did pause then, glancing down at his chest. His crest blazed with light through his nightshirt. The boy could feel its warmth and power running through him. He swallowed.

"Good."

Without watching his father's reaction, he sat himself at the table and continued to tuck in.

Yamato cautiously came out of the bedroom, wary of his sudden change in attitude.

"Hungry?" he asked, standing by Dad.

"Yes."

He was still scared. Scared that if they battled this dark ocean enemy he would have nightmares. More flashbacks. That more people he cared about would get hurt. That he could lose Patamon again. But he was done with being unsure of where he belonged. Everyone had moved on without him, but _he_ had gone on without them as well. He could feel young and old, tired and strong, silly and serious. That was all him. Patamon was right.

He leaned across the table and snagged his father's cell phone. He punched in the number and turned toward his stupefied family.

"I'm telling Mom."

He just needed to be himself.

And he was Hope.


	11. Recon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please come scream at me about Psi, guys. Same name on tumblr

Daisuke ran over the plan in his head, elbows brushing Ken's as they sat on the Yagami's couch. He was a little disappointed, though not surprised that they weren't going to burst into the Dark Ocean guns blazing. A much as he wanted to get revenge on their enemy, for messing with Ken, for tricking the older kids, for trying to kill Yamato's little brother… he understood that they would probably be setting themselves up for a disaster. None of them had much of a clue about the Dark Ocean. Not one of them had any idea where the crests were being held or if they were guarded. Not exactly a scenario where they could wing it.

There would be a reconnaissance mission.

Daisuke watched as the others debated who would be going. Takeru had to, of course. He was the only one who would be able to find the crests, and only Holyangemon could get them out again if there was an emergency. Yamato refused to leave his little brother's side. Daisuke found himself wondering if Jun would be so possessive of him if she had once thought him dead. Probably. But he couldn't picture it.

Taichi demanded to go, personally offended that this evil digimon had tricked him into giving up his crest and targeted his sister as well. Then he subsequently forbade Hikari from coming. Daisuke found himself relieved at that, though Hikari had looked like volunteering to go was the last thing on her mind. She agreed without a fight. Even if she had wanted to go, bringing her to the Dark Ocean now was as good as painting a target on her back. Not that there wasn't already one on Takeru's. Or Ken's.

At Taichi's declaration, Sora immediately said the group needed a voice of reason. The girl was the only one capable of reining in her stubborn friends, so it made sense for her to go and remind them that it was a stealth mission. Get in, find the crests, get out.

"I really feel I should go as well. What if one of you gets hurt?" Jyou said anxiously.

It was blatantly obvious to Daisuke that the young man wanted to go about as much as one wanted a root canal, but he was insistent.

"No one will get hurt, Jyou. There shouldn't be any fighting at all. We are just going to take a quick look around and see if Takeru can locate the crests. If something attacks, we plan on retreating. Don't feel like you need to force yourself," Sora replied, placing a hand on the older boy's shoulder.

Jyou's shoulders slumped gratefully. "I'll be waiting for you all to return then."

"I would love to go-" Koushiro was cut off by Taichi.

"We're not going to be stopping anywhere long enough for you to take samples or analyze things, you know."

Daisuke tuned them out when he became aware of the tension radiating from his best friend. Ken had his arms snug around Wormmon in his lap, his face pinched with indecision. The expression snarled something in Daisuke's gut. He could understand why his best friend would want to face his fear and go with them. Ken _was_ the only one who had physically been to the Dark Ocean before, but…

Ken sat up straight, his face pale but set.

"I should go too."

The room stilled.

"Ken…" Daisuke didn't know how to express how much he did not want Ken to go on this mission. The spikey haired boy did not want his best friend anywhere near the Dark Ocean. Ken's screaming the other night had woken his parents. Daisuke had to come up with a ridiculous excuse about them both getting up to use the bathroom at the same time and Ken having gotten startled. His parents hadn't pressed the issue, but in no way believed it. Getting startled didn't make a person scream like _that_.

Daisuke never wanted to hear anyone scream like that again.

Everyone turned to face the boys on the couch slowly, various expressions of sympathy on their faces. Except Takeru. For reasons that Daisuke did not want to dwell on, Takeru looked positively eager.

"Ken, it's not that we don't appreciate you wanting to go… It’s just that strategically speaking, we shouldn't have both Shield Crests together until we have a better way to protect you. There is still a chance that the creature will try to come after Takeru while we're there. That's why there's more of us going. Otherwise it would just be Takeru-"

Yamato cleared his throat.

"Just Takeru _and Yamato_ going. It’s just too big of a risk," Taichi finished.

Ken's eyes were on his knees as he nodded.

Some of the stiffness left Daisuke's shoulders even as his heart clenched for his friend. No matter how much he insisted, Ken still felt like he had to prove that he was worthy of being in the group. This rejection hurt him, no matter how logical.

Chatter started up again around them.

"Sorry, man," he said quietly.

Demiveemon crawled from his lap to snuggle with Wormmon on Ken's. The corner of his friend's mouth twitched a little.

"It’s alright. I honestly don't want to go back… but I don't want to be useless."

"You aren't useless," he hissed, leaning closer to give them some semblance of privacy. "Taichi's right. It’s too dangerous to have you and Takeru in the Dark Ocean at the same time. We'll go with the others when everyone is powered up again."

Ken hummed, raising his head when someone approached them.

It was Takeru, Patamon curled up and sleeping in the hood of his sweatshirt. Saving his energy for making portals.

Daisuke found himself glaring at the kid despite his best efforts not to. He had… complicated feelings towards the boy. For heaven's sake, he'd only known he existed for a few weeks. They hadn't even had a full conversation. Everything Ken had told him about the blond kid was good.

That, perhaps, was the issue. Ken had been spending a lot of time over at the Ishida household these days, tutoring. In doing so, he had been able to spend little time with Daisuke, and talked about his new friend often. And Daisuke got that. He really did. He would be okay with the fact that Ken was a genius and was the best person to get Takeru up to speed. That was not Takeru's fault. Tutoring would not last forever.

But now there was this thing with their crests. They were bonded to Hikari, destined to work together to protect her… Daisuke hated to admit that he had spent last night in a bit of a panic. He could share Ken for a while, sure. But this…? Daisuke didn't make friends easily. Not real, quality friends. Hikari had been his first friend after moving to Odaiba, and though Miyako was her best friend, Daisuke considered the two of them close. Ken was his first _best_ friend. He liked to think of them more like brothers than friends.

Daisuke knew he had a bit of a jealous streak. It didn't matter how good of a kid Takeru was if he was going to take Ken and Hikari from him.

Daisuke jolted when Ken elbowed him.

"What?"

Ken frowned at him, eyes reproachful. Probably wanted him to knock it off.

Daisuke shook the scowl from his face and looked up at the blond kid.

Takeru did not appear affected by his glower. In fact, his expression was one of open curiosity. He gazed between Ken and Daisuke, saying nothing.

"Takeru?" Ken asked.

The chosen of hope opened his mouth slightly, but did not quite respond. He half turned away from them, scanning the room, eyes squinted in concentration.

Daisuke did not understand this kid.

Takeru gave Daisuke another once over.

"Yeah, okay," the blond said to himself, apparently having come to some conclusion. "Taichi!"

Daisuke flinched a little at the boy's suddenly loud call. He hadn't actually yelled, just made himself loud enough to be heard over two dozen people and digimon talking. Daisuke had never heard Takeru raise his voice before either. He'd seemed rather soft spoken.

Taichi's hair could be seen over the crowd of teenagers. He, Yamato, and a handful of others paused their planning to pay attention to Takeru.

"I want Daisuke to come with us."

Daisuke's jaw dropped. Takeru had said it like it wasn't up for discussion. The older chosen obviously acknowledged that as well, for they frowned at the seriousness in his statement.

"Okay, Teeks."

"Thanks!" Takeru shot his brother a sudden, bright smile.

This kid was going to give Daisuke whiplash.

"I mean, so long as that's okay with you?" Takeru turned and asked him.

"Uh, yeah. I can go," Daisuke had wanted to since they declared they would be entering the Dark Ocean earlier that morning. The reason he hadn't volunteered had less to do with being afraid of the dark world and more to do with the fact that he didn't want to leave Ken behind. If Takeru was asking him to join the party, he supposed that was different. But why…?

Demiveemon chirped from Ken's lap. "Oh boy! A new adventure!"

Takeru smiled down at the baby digimon and slipped down onto the cushion on Ken's other side.

"Do you have it?" He whispered, leaning his head closer to them.

Before Daisuke could wonder what he meant, Ken pulled his hand out of his pocket and opened it. The crest of kindness sat in his palm.

He felt a thrill of excitement as Takeru gently picked it up, turning it over and looking at the small symbol. He'd seen Takeru's crest react the other night, but other than that, none of the younger kids had ever seen a crest trigger an evolution.

Ken looked apprehensive.

"Do you know how to activate it?" he said, equally as quietly.

Takeru made a face.

"Not a clue. Which is why I don't want everyone staring at my while I try. It'd be so embarrassing if it took me like an hour and everybody was just waiting."

Daisuke resisted snorting at that. The others were still milling about, discussing where in the Digital World they would be entering from, and how Takeru could get his group back to Server. The last thing they needed was for a whole bunch of them to get stuck on another continent for another three years. Daisuke felt a touch of anxiety. He was going with them now, and he preferred _not_ world hopping through the rest of his elementary school career.

Takeru shifted, pulling his own crest out and holding one in each hand. His face was puzzled. The kid looked at Ken, at Wormmon, between his own hands… Nothing happened.

"Is there like, something you have to say?" Daisuke grumbled, scratching his head.

Takeru frowned at his own crest.

"I don't think so? I mean, if there is, it would have been nice if Quinglongmon had told me. I've never tried to use my crest like this before. Usually it activates on its own."

"Take your time," Wormmon offered kindly.

He played with the purple crest a few more minutes, concentrating intensely. Daisuke found his attention waning, though Ken's eyes never strayed from his lifeless crest.

Takeru suddenly reached out and placed his hand over Ken's, startling the dark haired boy. Ken jerked back, not expecting the contact.

"Sorry!" The chosen of hope exclaimed. "I thought maybe if we both- yeah that didn't work, okay. I gotta stop touching everybody."

"It’s fine…" Ken muttered.

Daisuke shook his head.

The boy went back to fiddling with the crest, muttering under his breath here and there. Just when Daisuke was losing interest again (Really, how long was he just going to sit here on the couch? He was a man of action and his whole body was itching to do _something_.) Takeru held the crest of kindness in both hands, closed his eyes and bowed his head. He squeezed his hands to his chest, and Daisuke _felt_ something rush through him.

Patamon woke abruptly, blue eyes wide and alert.

Ken made a choked noise as Takeru perked up, the blond's face lit with a beaming smile. He opened his hands and laying in his palm was the crest, now glittering with light.

Daisuke lurched forward, ignoring the others suddenly inquiring about the odd energy pulse.

"Holy shit, did you do it?"

Takeru excitedly handed the shimmering crest to its owner, both of them wordless in their awe.

The moment Ken touched his crest, purple energy burst outwards from it through the room. Everyone's heads whipped around at the light that exploded from Wormmon.

"Woah!" Daisuke threw himself backwards to make room for the rapidly growing digimon.

Takeru nearly fell off the couch in his effort to get out of the way, and Daisuke thought with a stroke of horror that they should have done this outside. _What if the digimon was too big to fit in the apartment?_

Silence reigned as the light of the evolution faded. Every eye glued in their direction.

"Wow…" Ken breathed, a look of wonder and serenity took over his face.

Daisuke had never seen Ken seem so at peace.

His friend's eyes were wide, taking in the Perfect level digimon who had to crouch to prevent bumping his head on the ceiling. It was clear that he resembled Stingmon, but his coloring was drastically lighter. Huge amber gems coated his leaf-like armor. The digimon wielded a long staff, topped with five pointed spear blades in the shape of a star. Long silver hair fell down his back from under an insect like helmet, and Daisuke noted that this digimon was distinctly more humanoid than his previous form.

"Hello, Ken. I am Jewelbeemon."

Oh wow, his voice was _cool_.

* * *

"I don't think I will have any trouble getting Holyangemon to open a portal back to Server…" Takeru said to the group.

They all clustered around the newly evolved digimon, peppering him and his partner with questions. Ken seemed flustered by the attention, but genuinely happier than he'd been in weeks. Or maybe months, Daisuke ventured. Ken had been struggling for a long time.

"Why's that?" Koushiro asked seriously.

The boy looked suddenly shy, pressing himself more firmly into his brother's side.

"Well, ah, when the crest activated, I felt a… like a tug from Ken. I don't really know how to describe it, but it’s like there's a… a thread of energy connecting us. I think I could find him even if we were far away."

Koushiro blinked, taken aback.

"Huh. Well that is an unexpected side effect, but certainly a positive one. I wonder if it has to do with you both being Shield Crests? Will you feel connected to Hikari once we get her crest back as well?" He turned to Ken, a new thought popping into his already buzzing head. "Does the connection go both ways, Ken?"

Daisuke held his breath.

His friend blushed a little, avoiding everyone's eyes.

"Yeah…"

Daisuke's heart twisted in his chest.

* * *

The moment he hopped through the portal and landed in the sand, Daisuke couldn't help but wish he would never see the Dark Ocean again. Ever. Even knowing that they would be back with everyone else later.

The sand got into his shoes, grittier and more abrasive than he expected. It clung to his socks and his ankles, and the backs of his legs too, kicking up behind him as he stepped away from the portal. The air seemed devoid of temperature or wind, which gave the disturbing feeling of there being no air at all. Daisuke found himself gasping, desperate for confirmation that there was indeed oxygen. There was, but the air tasted sour with decay and rot.

This place sucked.

The boy rubbed his hands over his face, ignoring how sticky he felt already. Looking around at his companions, he noted that they appeared even more discomfited than he was. Sora braced herself against the sea wall they had come through, Piyomon chirping in hushed undertones at her. Taichi had his hands on his knees like he was winded, glaring around at the deserted beach. Agumon patted his arm reassuringly.

It was Takeru who really concerned him though. The kid hunched forward, eyes clenched shut and forehead pressed into his brother's shoulder. Yamato had a firm grip on his upper arms and was whispering rapidly to him, desperate. Takeru shook his head, pulling back and yanking the collar of his shirt up over his nose and mouth.

Daisuke was trudging through the awful sand before he made a conscious choice to do so, V-mon at his side. He did not want to be concerned about Takeru. He did not want to like Takeru. Takeru was going to take his two best friends away from him. But Takeru was shaking and Yamato did not seem to be succeeding in calming his little brother down. Daisuke wasn't heartless.

"Uh, everything okay?"

Well that was stupid. Obviously, things were terrible.

Two pairs of blue eyes turned to him and Daisuke stopped short at the opposite emotions in the brothers' faces. Takeru looked at him the way a man dying of thirst looks at a glass of water. Which confused Daisuke greatly and was more than a bit disconcerting to be honest.

Yamato, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to bite him.

"Chill out, Yamato. He's trying to be nice." Taichi and Sora slogged over to them, their partners looking around for any sign of danger.

"Did you seriously just tell me to chill?"

They were saved from an ensuing brawl when Takeru stumbled over to stand close to Daisuke. Patamon fluttered over and settled on his partner's head, smiling at Daisuke widely.

"Oh, thank goodness, I was right…" Takeru let out in a rush, dropping the hem of his shirt and breathing deeply.

Daisuke resigned himself to the fact that Takeru was always going to baffle him. But he apparently was baffling the others today as well.

"Takeru, what's going on?" Sora asked when Yamato looked betrayed.

The chosen of hope looked up at Daisuke, and the messy haired boy couldn't help but enjoy the fact that Takeru was a good two inches shorter than he was. Miyako was always taunting him about how short he was. It wasn't his fault Miyako and Ken were absurdly tall.

"It’s why I wanted you to come with us. Everyone has _some_ darkness around them, and with the group we have here, we actually have a lot. And it’s kind of good, because some of us will blend in a little more. I think it will be harder for the creatures here to sense where we are or how many of us are here." He was deliberately not looking at the uncomfortable expressions on the older kids' faces.

"But I knew it would be hard to be here, so I thought it might be helpful to have someone with less darkness. I mean, who knows what this place can do to us, and I figured a brighter person might be more resistant to the effects of the Dark Ocean? I don't know. But Daisuke-" Takeru sounded amazed. "I've never seen anyone with as little darkness as you. You feel normal in the real world, but you're like a breath of fresh air here. Seriously, the air smells less horrible around you. And I can't- I can't be the only one who can see this."

He waved the others closer and grabbed Daisuke's hand, holding it out so they could all see.

"See? Look, we all seem kind of grey here. The colors are washed out. You three are pretty muted, but on Daisuke you can hardly tell."

"Holy shit, that's creepy." Taichi stared around at them.

Yamato was fixated on his own hands, disturbed.

"You look normal too, Takeru," Piyomon added.

The blond boy nodded, dropping Daisuke's hand.

"But my crest is active right now, I can feel it. I bet if it wasn't, I would be just as grey as you guys. Daisuke is just naturally brighter." He shot an appreciative glance at the younger of the goggle-bearers.

"That's so cool, Daisuke!" V-mon hugged his leg.

Daisuke found he agreed.

* * *

The fact that they had been sneaking around this dilapidated beach town for twenty minutes and hadn't run into anything yet should have been comforting.

It wasn't.

Takeru could feel two distinct areas of light. They were under the impression that the crests had been split up to stop them from doing… exactly what they were going to try to do. He also said he could feel an enormous concentration of dark energy off in the distance under the water. Whether that was the creature, the corrupted crest of light, or both, he didn't know. Takeru shuddered just telling them about it.

Daisuke followed Taichi around the corner of a building at a crouch, wincing at the crunch of sand under his shoes. They were getting close to the first of the "light" spots and Daisuke swore he could feel their anxiety swirling in the stale air.

In front of them, Gabumon pulled up short of the end of a fence. He gestured for them to stop.

"I hear something nearby," the digimon breathed, pointing towards the alley at the end of the fence.

"What is it?" Yamato asked, looking at both his partner and his brother.

"It sounds like talking, but I can't make out what they're saying."

Takeru curled in on himself slightly, eyes trained in the direction Gabumon pointed.

"The crests are there… Four of them. But there's other things too. They're dark. It’s- they're mild? I don't understand, they don't feel alive…"

Daisuke felt himself pale.

"Ghosts?"

Taichi grimaced. "Quinglongmon did say that the Dark Ocean was supposed to be the resting place for digimon that died during evolution. They would technically be like ghosts. It’s possible the creature corrupted some of the regular residents here. They're probably guards."

After a moment of unsettling silence, Piyomon ruffled her feathers.

"I can go look. I won't be seen, I promise."

Sora looked upset by the thought but kneeled next to the pink bird.

"Just a quick peek, okay? Then come right back. We just need to know what we're up against."

Daisuke watched Piyomon flutter up among the rooftops, grateful for once that V-mon wasn't able to fly.

The group pressed themselves against the fence, eyes and ears peeled for any sign of a disturbance. Daisuke had to repress a twitch when Takeru sandwiched himself between him and Yamato. He was so close that Daisuke could feel his shaky breathing.

"What's wrong?" his brother asked, concern dripping from his voice.

Takeru balled his hands in the fabric of his sleeves and Patamon snuggled against his cheek.

"He's looking for us," he said, the words almost inaudible.

Alarm screamed through Daisuke's body. "Do we need to go?" He and Taichi asked nearly as one.

Takeru shook his head.

"He can't tell where we are. He saw us last time because we were right in front of the distortion. Now its like he knows someone is here, but he can't lock onto exactly where."

Daisuke swallowed.

"If we stay too long… will be able to find us?"

Takeru's wide eyes said what he couldn't.

Sora searched the sky for her partner.

Taichi swore.

"There!" The chosen of love spotted Piyomon in the air.

The bird was heading toward the ground, waving for them to meet her the next street over. They hastened to comply, sneakers scattering sand as they went.

"There's an old shrine," Piyomon started the moment she landed. "Tucked back in the alley. I think the crests are in a well in the center of it. And I saw the guards. They look like that fuzzy stuff on the TV, Sora."

"Fuzzy stuff? Like static?"

Piyomon shrugged.

"I think so. They were talking, but their voices are all low and weird and I couldn't understand a word they said. There were dozens of them all wandering about back there."

Taichi ran his hands through his hair agitatedly and looked earnestly at Takeru.

"Do we have time to make it to the second location?"

* * *

"Damnit, there's no cover here." Yamato growled.

Daisuke had similar sentiments. Whereas the first location was tucked in an alley in the middle of the city, this place was wide open. An old park. The leaves had long abandoned their branches and the only thing around for them to hide behind was a line of concrete benches.

"I don't think we need to get much closer. I think the crests are in the fountain." Takeru shivered, peeking through a crack in the edge of a backrest.

A massive fountain stood in the middle of a raised pavilion, though it was hard to tell what was what when there were a good thirty _things_ milling about. "Ghost" was not entirely accurate, as the creatures seemed to have a more corporeal form and they were not transparent at all. Red eyes stood out against a grey body, but Piyomon had been correct in describing their makeup as TV static.

Their moaning was grating on what was left of Daisuke's nerves. This whole world was nauseating.

With no warning whatsoever, the ghosts quieted. They stopped their restless movements, their heads slowly swiveling around.

Searching.

"Crap."

"Patamon, get us out of here," Sora ordered.

The instant the light of the evolution sparked, the ghosts surged towards them like a wave.

Takeru let out a sound of horror, blue eyes locked on the distant ocean.

 _Oh_ _shit_.

Daisuke turned to his partner, digivice already in his hand.

"V-mon!"

Greymon breathed a wall of fire to keep the dark creatures at bay, while Birdramon and Garurumon surrounded Taichi, Sora, and the brothers. Holyangemon appeared in a burst of light and feathers.

Daisuke raced forward on Lighdramon's back like a bullet. Lightning cut down the ghosts left and right as they charged through the crowded pavilion. His heart pounded, but he was sure this was the only chance he would get.

Lighdramon splashed through the water of the fountain and spun around.

"Daisuke!" Taichi yelled.

The portal was opening. Sora threw herself in, Piyomon swooping through a second behind her.

Lighdramon shot back toward it, trampling the dark creatures as he ran. Daisuke whooped.

Greymon devolved, still throwing pepper breaths as he and his partner retreated through the golden ring.

Yamato dragged Takeru through, the younger boy's face a mixture of terror and incredulity. Takeru fought against him, ripping away and reaching out for Daisuke.

"Come on!"

At the last moment, Daisuke realized that he and Lighdramon were not going to fit through the portal the way they were.

"Hey _buddy_!" he yelled, brown eyes blowing wide at the small hole in space they were rocketing toward.

Bless his partner for understanding his desperate plea. Lighdramon leapt at the portal and Daisuke felt his partner devolve underneath him. Their momentum sent them flying into the grass in the digital world. Daisuke tumbled ass over teakettle to a stop, laughing like an idiot.

The world spun around him. Yelling for the portal to close. Yelling about the ghosts. Taichi and definitely more than one other person was yelling at him in particular. Jyou was prodding him.

"That was completely unnecessary!" Someone cried at him.

Jyou helped him sit up, and Ken's worried face bobbed into his line of sight.

"What happened? Are you hurt?" his best friend demanded fearfully.

Before Daisuke could stop laughing enough to formulate an answer, Takeru threw himself to his knees beside him.

"Don't do that again!" The chosen of hope gave him a shake, eyes still wide, but the horror was receding. "You are a crazy person."

Daisuke shook his head, scrubbing his hands over his eyes. Takeru let out a short laugh, and Daisuke laughed along with him.

"Which one did you get?"

Daisuke lifted his fist and opened it. Glittering innocently in his palm was the crest of courage.


	12. The Beginning of the End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo yo yo, here we go!

Takeru watched the Digimon tuck into their meal from his spot on the Yagami’s couch. It was a pre-battle feast of sorts to get their energy up. It turned out Miyako’s family owned a convenient store near their apartment and got everything for a serious discount. It was a good thing too because twelve Digimon could easy eat a person out of house and home.

Most of the chosen were clustered around Koushiro and Taichi at the kitchen table, rehashing the details for their trip into the Dark Ocean. Mimi, already knowing her role, was helping Mrs. Yagami in the kitchen. They were whipping up everything and anything else they could for the Digimon and their partners alike. Takeru had overheard Hikari whisper her request for Mimi to help in the kitchen, as apparently her mother had the reputation for ruining anything that should be edible.

The chosen of hope shifted against the cushions as Mimi added spices and more to pans of sizzling food when Mrs. Yagami’s back was turned. Takeru didn’t think her cooking was _that_ bad on the two occasions he’d been here for a meal, but he’d also eaten birdseed, so… Really, anything was an improvement over that.

The boy did his best to relax. They had a plan. Their Digimon were rested up and chowing down. They even already had the crest of courage back. He’d managed to sleep last night despite the upcoming danger. They were in good shape.

None of that was enough to stop him from being nervous.

He fiddled with the strings from his sweatshirt, wondering why he’d chosen to sit over here by himself while everyone else was on the other side of the room. It wasn’t exactly that he needed space or that he wanted some quiet to think. He just… the idea of being crowded in with everyone right now made him itchy. It was odd that no one was nagging him to join them, but then, most of the chosen children still treaded lightly around him. Taichi and Sora had been easy to reconnect with, but for the newer kids, Miyako and Iori especially, it would take a little more time since there was no prior friendship.

He focused instead on Patamon. His partner was stuffing his face with onigiri and praising Upamon for bringing “those delicious goo tubes”, which Takeru assumed were the yogurt to go packets Iori had shown up with. He looked so much more well rested than he had lately, invigorated by the thought of getting all their crests back. A small smile tugged at the corner of Takeru’s mouth, in spite of his squirming stomach. Patamon always made him feel more at ease, even if he wasn’t actively trying to.

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Taichi leaving the group and heading in his direction. The chosen of hope straightened his slumping shoulders.

The leader sat next to him with a light thump, leaning back and looking up to the ceiling for a moment. Takeru waited patiently, unsure of what Taichi would say. There was a solemnity to him that Takeru had never seen.

“I don’t think any of us ever apologized,“ Taichi said evenly, turning to look him in the eye. “For leaving you behind. I know it was a mess and it could have been anyone who got missed, but the bottom line is that in a moment of crisis, we failed at working as a team. We should have made sure we had everyone…”

“But Gennai was the one who sent you all-“ Takeru felt he had to interrupt. Not that he’d never had moment of bitterness in the years he was away, but in the end it was Myotismon’s fault. This wasn’t at all what he had expected Taichi to want to talk to him about.

“Regardless,” Taichi pressed on. “I want you to know we all missed you. No matter how short a time we’d known you, there wasn’t one of us who was okay with leaving you there. We thought we’d have more time to search afterwards, and then… The gate closed, and it felt so final. I know we are going into a pretty scary situation now, but I promise you, we won’t leave anyone behind this time. We stick together. Everyone in this room has your back. _I_ have your back.”

Takeru let the older boy finish, wide blue eyes taking in how serious he was being. The words wormed their way into his heart and started mending something he didn’t even know was broken. No matter how self-assured he was, the insecurity of where he fit into all these people had stayed. Now here Taichi was, and Takeru felt like he was inviting back onto the team. His team.

Their team.

A smile lit his face, and he placed a hand on his leader’s arm.

“Oh, Taichi, I was never worried about _that_."

* * *

Takeru landed in the sand praying this was the last time he would ever step foot in this dismal place. The first deep breath nearly sent him staggering, the scent of rotting fish and something like vinegar polluting his lungs. Yamato snagged him by the hood to stop him from falling.

“Okay yeah, I still hate this,” he muttered, trying to shake sand out of his sneakers.

“Oh my god…”

Takeru turned back to see the others in various states of disgust and dismay. Mimi was trying to breathe into her elbow, and even Palmon was attempting to touch the sand as little as possible.

“Mimi, this place feels _dirty_ …” she wailed softly.

Jyou was pale, but keeping it together, as were most of the others. Iori stood stock still, visibly restraining himself from just walking back through the portal.

“Ken, you okay, man?” Daisuke hovered around his best friend, a hand on his back.

The chosen of kindness was shaking and looked like he was close to hurling. He scrubbed his palms over his eyes. After a few moments he managed to pull himself together. Takeru caught sight of a thin purple sheen alight under the front of his shirt.

Yamato kept a firm hand on his shoulder, grounding him as they turned to check on Hikari.

The girl was pale as a ghost, staring with fearful eyes out at the ocean. Takeru wondered if she could feel her own crest somewhere out there, twisted with malice and darkness. He could.

Koushiro was the last through the portal, expression changing from curiosity to revulsion. Tentomon buzzed quietly over his head, looking up and down the beach.

“Your descriptions were entirely accurate. I don’t want to study this place unless it’s from the comfort of the real world.” He grimaced at the feel of the gritty sand filtering in through the mesh of his shoes. “Let’s get this over with.”

The twelve of them rounded up, their Digimon keeping watch for any hint of movement.

Takeru pressed between his brother and Sora, Patamon snuggled on his shoulder. He’d devolved as soon as they had crossed into the Dark Ocean to conserve as much energy as possible.

“All right, everyone, we all know our jobs. Stick to adult level as much as you can for now, we’ll need to save energy for taking down the creature once we’ve all got our crests. Try not to let the ghosts touch you. We aren’t entirely sure they have any offensive powers, but the few of you who came in contact with them yesterday said their touch left you with pins and needles. Let avoid that in case it’s a way of draining energy. If anything happens, regroup here at the beach. Does anything feel like it’s changed, Takeru?”

The chosen of hope stilled, doing his best to feel out as far as he could. It was hard to make out anything past their knot of light.

“I think… Mostly it’s the same. One of the crests might have been moved to the fountain? I thought there were four in the well, but the light doesn’t feel as strong there anymore. I don’t think that changes anything though.”

“Not really. Alright everyone, let’s go.”

Everyone nodded or hummed their consent.

He watched as Koushiro, Sora, and Iori took off on Birdramon towards the well. Mimi, Jyou, and Miyako flew off towards the fountain on Holsmon.

The beach felt a lot less bright with only six of them left in the sand.

“Do we really just hang out here until this thing decides to attack us?” Yamato grumped, glaring impatiently at the unnervingly still water. “I feel like we’re sitting ducks out here.”

Gabumon reached up and patted his back supportively.

Taichi glanced at Takeru, Hikari, and Ken’s uncomfortable faces.

“Unfortunately, the best way to draw this thing out of the ocean is to present the biggest target. I don’t exactly love it either, you know. I don’t think any of us does. But it’s not like anything can catch us off guard here.”

“Don’t worry guys!” Daisuke stepped up between his two best friends and threw his arms around their shoulders. “We are going to kick this thing’s gross, seaweed ass. Nothing is going to touch you.”

He paused, looking over at Takeru.

“Or you, you know. You too.”

Takeru felt himself grinning at Daisuke’s confidence.

All they could do now was wait.

And wait they did.

It was a little while later when Ken murmured, “If we’re such a big target, why isn’t anything coming to get us?” He shifted Wormmon in his arms, a puzzled look on his face. “And why hasn’t the creature corrupted all the other crests? What use are they to him?”

The others gazed at him, not able to come up with any answers.

“I… I think-“ Takeru held back a flinch when everyone turned abruptly towards him. “Its really hard to tell, but I think its something about where they are. The crests are all being held in water, and I think it may be pulling energy from them. They can’t run out of energy, so it builds back up. They feel a little like they’re pulsing, but after we got Taichi’s crest back, his stopped. It feels stronger now that its back with him.” He shrugged.

Tailmon squinted down at the sand, attempting to piece it all together.

“Do you think he’s using the crests to weaken the barrier? He could be pulling energy from them to hold his own portal open. Koushiro did say it must be taking an extraordinary amount of energy to keep that one weak spot between the worlds in place for so long. It’s been weeks.”

Agumon tapped his chin, considering.

Taichi nodded appreciatively.

“Your guess is as good as mine. I doubt he’s going to tell us though. We might never understand all of what’s going on here. Even Quinglongmon called this thing a “creature” and not a Digimon. Its kind of a mystery how the thing came to be at all.” He sighed. “Is it doing anything down there, Takeru?”

“Uh, it’s definitely keeping an eye on us.” Takeru side-eyed the edge of the water uncomfortably. “But it’s also probably trying to find the others. It hasn’t moved since we got here.”

He had no idea how to explain the malice, and even more disturbing, the desire that wafted through the stale air around them. How the creature deep under the murky water just felt like a thick fog of hatred and spite. How their friends were pinpricks of light on the edge of his consciousness.

“That’s creepy,” V-mon said.

Hikari hugged Tailmon closer, and Taichi patted her shoulder.

Another few minutes passed with a considerably higher amount of fidgeting. Daisuke and Taichi were never much for just sitting and waiting, and even Yamato was noticeably antsy.

Takeru was combing his fingers through Patamon’s fur repeatedly when a flare of light to the north startled him.

“Hey!” He spun around, eyes bright. “I think Sora’s group got the crests! They… Oh man, he’s mad!”

Before anyone could rejoice, a thick wave of static rippled over the water. Takeru backed up, heart starting to pick up its pace.

His brother was at his side instantly, their Digimon throwing the beach into sharp relief with their sudden evolutions.

“Is it him?” Yamato asked sharply.

Takeru shook his head. He was momentarily distracted by Tailmon’s evolution. He’d met chosen and their partners all around the world and he’d _never_ seen another angel Digimon before…

“Greymon!” Taichi cried, yanking Takeru’s attention back.

The water swelled up at the edge of the beach, and then there were dozens upon dozens of the ghost things swarming up from the water.

The giant dinosaur spewed a wall of fire around the chosen children, giving them a few precious seconds to clamber up onto their partner’s backs. It didn’t hold them off for long though, the grey creatures scrambling over each other to try to reach over the flames.

“Go, go, go!” Daisuke crowed from atop Exvee-mon.

“I got you covered, Teeks!” Yamato gave his little brother a thumbs up as Garurumon took the first shots at the ghosts that had flung themselves over the top of the fire.

Takeru, Hikari, and Ken took to the air, clinging tightly to their partners. Takeru smiled a bit. He was scared, yes, but Angemon was strong against dark digimon (if these counted as Digimon) and it felt great to be up and flying with his partner again. His brother circled beneath him with Garurumon, fighting tooth and nail.

Attacks flew in every direction. The ghosts would reach out a hand, and from it flew a thin bolt of darkness. Anything it hit was indeed affected by a strange numbness, pins and needles

The funny thing was, they didn’t seem to be shooting much. They swarmed like ants, reaching and doing anything they could to catch hold of whatever body part was closest. It took their group a while to realize they weren’t trying to take them down.

They were trying to drag them towards the water.

Angemon swooped down and swung his staff like a baseball bat to knock another wave of ghosts off Garurumon’s flank.

“These things are so annoying!” Yamato grouched. “Thanks, Teeks! How you doing, Gaurumon?”

The wolf Digimon growled and snapped at a group of enemies coming at his side.

“I wish I could fly right now, these things are everywhere. The problem is we can’t seem to hurt them. You knock them down and ten seconds later, they’re up again. And I don’t think it’s because we aren’t hitting hard enough!”

Greymon got closer, sweeping his tail through the masses to clear himself a path.

“You think they can’t be beaten?” Taichi yelled.

“Aren’t they already dead?” Angewomon flew in with Hikari, shooting arrows left and right.

Takeru’s brows furrowed. If there was no way to beat them, what were they supposed to do? Just hold them off until the real enemy decided to appear? Even through the chaos, he could tell that the concentration of darkness still hadn’t moved. The constant feeling of being observed was getting on his nerves.

They rolled in the air away from a couple of dark bolts, Angemon gripping Takeru’s arm tightly to hold him in place.

“Hey!” Daisuke shouted furiously.

Takeru whipped around, alarmed at the sight that met his eyes.

A large group of ghosts had piled on top of each other, long arms and fingers stretching up to lock around Stingmon’s ankle like a vice. The others were climbing the pile like a ladder only to get kicked away. The insect Digimon held Ken tight in both arms, wings straining to pull them free.

Daisuke and Exvee-mon were there before Takeru could tell Angemon to help them out. The dragon Digimon struck out with his laser, and then with his fists, tearing through the string of ghosts and sending them flying.

“See, I got you Ke- Whoa!”

Daisuke and his partner were forced to pull up sharply and gain altitude as another wave of ghosts reared up to grab at them as well, long fingers brushing the boy’s sneakers.

Takeru adjusted his grip on his partner as they flew higher, not wanting to be in range as well.

A quick glance at the water confirmed that there was a steady stream of ghosts staggering up out of the ocean. The more there were, the more dangerous their behavior became. They were obviously hive-minded, switching targets and tactics fluidly, doing everything possible to get those airborne low enough to be in range.

Takeru’s heart stuttered when he saw them turn to suddenly swarm Yamato and Garurumon, trampling those knocked down in an attempt to get them from behind.

“Don’t you dare!”

Angemon was about to send them all on their asses with a well-placed Heaven’s Knuckles when wing shaped flames came in from nowhere and did it for them.

“Yamato!”

Sora came flying into view then, and Takeru was taken aback. Somewhat hysterical laughter bubbled out of him involuntarily.

He’d completely forgotten how astronomically huge Garudamon was.

The massive Digimon flattened a third of their enemies when she landed, crying out their success. Kabuterimon and Ankylomon took off from her back, carrying their respective partners and joining the fray. Sora was in her digimon’s outstretched hand, waving excitedly at the chosen of friendship.

“Yamato! Yamato, catch!”

The girl wound up as Garurumon leapt over, throwing a sparkling blue trinket right into Yamato’s hands.

Takeru was glad he was close enough to see the smile that lit his brother’s face when he tugged the necklace over his head. Yamato actually laughed, looking down at the bright blue light that flared for the first time in years.

“I thought we were supposed to wait to evolve until we really needed to?” He called up to Sora teasingly.

The chosen of love blushed in embarrassment, but giggled nonetheless.

“It was too much to resist!”

“Damn right it is!” Yamato agreed. “Go for it Garurumon!”

Takeru shook his head as Garudamon gingerly picked up Yamato from his partner’s back. Weregarurumon was one of the smaller Perfect levels. Too small and quick to have a kid hanging on his back.

“Come on you guys!” Taichi called, fond and exasperated. “If I can wait, then so can you!”

Takeru had to stop watching his friends when a black shot came so close to his face he felt its chill on his cheek.

“Sorry, Takeru,” Angemon apologized, blocking more shots with his staff. “They’re really coming after you and Ken now, so hang on tight!”

The ghosts were ignoring the new incomers for the most part, focusing their energy on bringing down the Shield crests. They were even leaving Hikari and Angewomon alone unless they interfered too closely.

The air was thick with attacks and there were so many ghosts on the ground that they could hardly catch sight of the sand. The others were right when they said the ghosts just kept getting up. They were already dead, they couldn’t die again. This was basically the digital underworld.

Takeru was shaken from that line of thinking as something occurred to him.

“Angemon! Do you think they’re possessed or- I mean I know that they’re working with the creature here, but what if they aren’t evil and he’s controlling them? Could we heal them instead?”

His partner hummed, spinning them around to give Kabuterimon more space to dodge.

“It’s possible, Ta-“

Angemon paused when a flare of light came from deep in the abandoned city.

Their friends had gotten a hold of the other set of crests.

There was no time to celebrate, because immediately after, the very air thickened with cold hatred.

“Angemon evolve. Evolve please, now _now_ _nownow_ -“ Takeru clung to his partner’s shoulders, eyes glued to the water. Something black flickered on the horizon.

Angemon pulled him around to his front and curled around him, light bursting from within. The boy’s heart fluttered in his chest.

A shock wave slammed into them, wrenching them from the air. Takeru cried out in surprise, unable to see what was happening beyond the light of the evolution. The blast sent them careening to the sand. Their impact nearly jarred Takeru out of Holyangemon’s arms as the Digimon solidified around him.

There was a fleeting moment where Takeru wondered if they would be overtaken by the now hundreds of swarming ghosts. Then they were shooting into the air again and his partner was frantically asking if he was alright.

Takeru gasped, too rattled to answer. There was so much noise. Was everyone okay? He tried to check on them, eyes wide. He couldn’t- he didn’t see all of them. Where was Yamato?

“Takeru, say something!” Holyangemon commanded.

“Look out!”

There was a mound of water rising over the horizon, rocketing towards them with speed Takeru wouldn’t have believed if he wasn’t watching it with mounting terror.

Holyangemon spun them around, Excalibur at the ready, as the mound of water crested and became a wave. With only a moment to brace themselves, the wall of water careened into the beach with a cataclysmic crash.

Heavy, dark water thundered from above. Takeru couldn’t see, couldn’t hear past the rushing of frigid ocean water around him. Something solid hit them from the side, knocking Takeru from Holyangemon’s protective embrace. He didn’t know up from down and he was so cold… He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t breathe, and for a second he was eight years old again, and this was what started the whole damn thing in the first place.

Then the water was washing back out to sea and the chosen of hope was left coughing into the sand. Shaking fingers dug into the muddy ground, pushing him to his hands and knees.

All around him was chaos.

Above him, the monster roared.


	13. Hope

Takeru’s ears rang. His fingers trembled with the cold. He stumbled to his feet, blinking saltwater from his eyes.

All around him his friends were recovering from the wave and regrouping. Holyangemon evolving had been the signal for everyone else to get to Perfect if they were able. Most of them appeared to have withstood the water, either flying above it, or in Metalgreymon and Garudamon’s case it was simply that they were so sturdy it took more than water to knock them off their feet.

Weregarurumon burst out of the ocean with a soaked Iori in his claws, and Ankylomon rushed to meet them. Takeru didn’t know if the younger boy was hurt, but he could see Iori was conscious. Ken and Daisuke had been thrown to the ground with their respective Digimon, the four of them taking a quick account of any injuries. Takeru hoped Yamato was still safe with Sora.

The ghosts had been knocked flat by the water and were slow to rise, giving Takeru precious seconds to find his partner. Which he would have done if he weren’t completely hypnotized by the sight of the sea monster in front of him.

It didn’t look anything like he’d been picturing. The only thing that matched was that it was huge, easily fifty feet tall.

The creature was disgusting, grey, scaly skin draped loosely over a terribly bony frame. A long tail lashed in the shallow water behind it, small, thick spikes lining the vertebrae from the tip of its tail to the base of its neck. Though the body could have belonged to any four-legged creature, its head resembled a turtle skull, looking much too heavy for its skeletal body to support. Four large eye sockets lay deep in the bones of its face. In each socket sat a massive glittering eye with no pupil. The entire eyeball was lightly marbled and shimmered like the inside of a mussel shell. Seaweed hung from the creature like hair, and Takeru wasn’t sure if it was part of the monster’s body, or if it had just gotten stuck.

A thick haze of corruption hung around the thing like fog, overwhelming enough to make Takeru want to be sick.

The chosen digimon moved to attack immediately, beams of light shooting toward the abomination. A dome of translucent black energy shielded it, their attacks ricocheting off into the dark water.

“Takeru!”

There had been few times in his life he’d been so happy to see his partner.

Holyangemon’s hair was plastered to his armor, but he was unhurt, landing in front of Takeru and quickly looking him up and down for evidence of injuries.

“I’m alright,” the chosen of hope assured him. It was mostly true.

His partner scooped him up into his strong arms and they took to the air before the closest ghosts could hook their creepy fingers on anything. Takeru pressed his face into the crook of Holyangemon’s neck, hiding from the bite of the wind as they flew. His fingers felt numb, but he hung on with everything he had.

Holyangemon did not fly them into the fray. They hung back, letting Takeru gather his wits another moment.

“Are you sure you’re okay? If you don’t think you can stick to the plan, we should let the others know.”

Takeru shook his head.

“I’m okay. I don’t feel great, but it’s fine. We need to do our job, but I don’t know how we’re supposed to get so close! It’s probably using the crest of light to make that shield, but there is so much darkness I can’t pinpoint where the crest actually is!”

The angel digimon watched as the demonic turtle did nothing but leer down at their friends, a low hissing coming from its open mouth. No matter what they threw at it, nothing penetrated the black dome. It wasn’t attacking back yet.

Unfortunately, the ghosts were.

They had regained their senses and were causing chaos once more. The digimon had to weave and dodge, pausing their assault on the main enemy to push back against a thousand tiny foes. They moved as a swarm once more, redoubling their efforts to rip the chosen out of the sky. Holyangemon flew in tight loops to avoid their erratic shots.

Takeru watched the turtle monster slowly crawl its way closer to the beach, sweeping its head back and forth. Its tail lashed, splashing water twenty feet high in its agitation at the barrage of attacks that continued to pepper its shield.

“Holyangemon!” Takeru cried as they knocked a bunch of ghosts away from Hikari and Angewomon. “Holyangemon, I think it's blind!”

His partner balked at the idea, and from the brief look he saw Hikari send him, she was thrown off as well.

“Didn’t you guys say that it was staring at you in the woods? How can it be blind?”

Takeru swallowed, tracking the monster’s movement as it suddenly threw its head to the side and snapped at Ken and Jewelbeemon as they zipped by. Exvee-mon shot a laser in retaliation. It ignored the dragon digimon.

“I don’t know… get in closer and give it a fly by, I wanna see something,” he called.

“All right, hold tight, Takeru!” Holyangemon warned.

And then they were off like a shot, flying fast and low over the beach. Takeru squinted into the wind, keeping his eyes on the massive enemy. The closer they got, the more the thing started to face their direction.

Takeru carefully let go of his partner with one hand clenched it around his crest.

“Pull up!”

The angel digimon swung them skywards and Takeru dug deep, concentrating.

His crest gave a bright pulse.

The monster lunged for them, screaming its displeasure when it fell short.

Takeru whooped, excited that his theory was probably true.

“I think it sees like I feel!” He yelled. “All it sees is the darkness and the light. It couldn’t lock onto us until I gave it something really bright to look at. Otherwise it’s hard to pick anything out! It went after me and Ken but barely even noticed Daisuke, I think its tracking the crests!”

“I’m not sure that gives us much of an advantage,” his digimon replied, dodging a wave of ghosts that rose up beneath them. “It means we can’t sneak up on it. We also seem to have angered it greatly.”

He was right. The demonic turtle was throwing a fit, stomping around and roaring in fury. It snapped at anything that got close, chosen child and ghost alike. It was furious that its prize had gotten so close and escaped. Takeru winced when it reared back and gave an ungodly screech.

It was then that he saw it.

The crest of light.

It was like a black hole of dark energy. A miniscule, pitch black spot in the creature’s palm. It had been nearly impossible to make out when it was pressed deep into the sand, but revealing it sent a nauseating wave of corruption through the air. If Takeru really focused, he could feel tendrils of the energy wrapping themselves in and around the monster’s entire body. The dark energy was embedded in his entire form.

“There it i- _No_!” The chosen of hope screamed, his heart lurching into his throat.

As soon as he had recognized the crest, it shot out a beam of jet-black energy too fast for anyone to avoid.

Garudamon slammed into the ground with a deafening boom, Sora and Yamato tumbling to the beach only to be swarmed by ghosts.

“ _Onii-chan!_ ”

They were too far away.

Horrified tears blurred Takeru’s vision.

Kabuterimon buzzed in, knocking the ghosts away and snatching the two chosen up.

The skeletal creature let out a gurgling sound that could have been some twisted kind of laugh. And then it was shooting blasts of black energy at random. Everyone was scrambling to get out of the way, but there was no dodging an attack as such a speed.

Sand flew everywhere, the blasts making craters in the beach. The ghosts continued their assault, oblivious to the fact that their “master” had no qualms about collateral damage.

“No, no, no _nonono!_ ”

“Takeru, we have to do this now! We have no defense against something this powerful. We need to get the crest away from him!” Holyangemon shouted over his shoulder.

“I know! Crap, this is- Holyangemon, let’s go!”

They flew lower, sand raining on them from the blasts, aiming for a group of the other chosen. Hikari, Taichi, Ken, and Daisuke all looked their way when they pulled up over their heads.

“We’re making a run!” Takeru called to them, heart pounding under his ribs.

“Finally!” Daisuke pumped his fist.

“It’s blind, but it can track the crests. That makes Daisuke and Hikari pretty much invisible, but the rest of us make big targets. Hopefully it can’t tell which ones are shield crests.”

“Alright, Takeru. We’ll have you covered,” Taichi said firmly.

Hikari and Ken were pale but nodded in agreement.

The ten of them charged towards the rampaging beast. Taichi and Metalgreymon ran ahead, breathing a wall of fire at the monster to clear the way of ghosts that could shoot them down. Takeru and Holyangemon flew in close behind, Hikari and Angewomon right below them so that they could get a hold of the crest of light as soon as Takeru or Ken purified it. Daisuke and Ken were backup, Ken ready to either take over or make a break for it if things went wrong.

Takeru hoped that wherever his brother was, Yamato wouldn’t kill him for going in without him. It was impossible to round everyone up the way they had originally planned. Heck, the others weren’t even back with the rest of the crests, but they couldn’t wait anymore. Not when the crest of light had such destructive power.

“Now!” the chosen of hope cried.

Underneath him, Holyangemon evolved, not slowing his flight in the slightest.

Takeru and Seraphimon shot toward the demonic turtle, they had to be strong enough to break through the dome of darkness. They had to. They were coming up on the monstrosity quickly, praying it would be too distracted by Metalgreymon’s assault to notice them.

Seraphimon gathered himself for a powerful Strike of the Seven Stars when the creature spun in their direction, shooting a continuous beam of dark energy.

Out of the corner of his eye, Takeru saw Daisuke and Exvee-mon go down hard. He couldn’t see Hikari and Angewomon, and then before he could even check on Ken-

The black beam ripped through them, freezing Takeru’s blood, freezing his bones, his skin. He couldn’t feel anything but cold, no idea what was happening outside his own frozen hell.

Someone screamed his name.

His eyes flickered open and he became acutely aware that he was falling. His paralyzed lungs pushed out a strangled yelp as he collided with something solid, his momentum sending him tumbling down a slope. He squeezed his eyes shut, unable to pull his arms up to protect his head. Takeru flopped limply into the coarse sand, gasping.

His elbows hurt. His knees hurt. His stomach was flipping like he was still falling. A mass of grey static rushed towards him, but he didn’t see digital ghosts.

He saw smoke.

It was smoke billowing around him, and scorched grass under his sore fingers. He rolled over, groaning. Dakuyagimon bellowed in rage above him.

Takeru searched the hazy sky for Seraphimon, panic thrumming under his skin.

There.

His partner was crashing to the ground a distance away, smoke obscuring his form.

“Seraphimon!”

His lungs loosened, and he screamed. Everyone was going down around him, but he couldn’t lose his best friend. Not again. Not when they were lost the way they were. His partner was his _life_. He was the only thing he had left.

The smoke was pinning him down, tearing at every inch of him it could touch. He couldn’t breathe. It was hot. So hot. He needed to reach his digimon. His crest burned against his skin and he unconsciously reached for it, an explosion of light bursting around him.

The smoke lifted enough for Takeru to curl up on his side and gasp, grasping desperately at the grass. Then something strong grabbed him around the middle. He didn’t know what had him. Couldn’t see it. It was behind him, holding firmly and he couldn’t escape.

He clawed uselessly against its iron grip, adrenaline fueling his increasing terror. He was screaming, pleading to be let go, tears smearing across his cheeks. All he could see was Seraphimon hitting the ground over and over. He needed to _go_.

“-op it, it’s me!”

Who? It didn’t matter. He had to help his partner.

“Takeru, calm down!”

How could he calm down?

“Come on, Teeks, you’re okay!”

Teeks?

Takeru’s eyes snapped open. He was shaking uncontrollably, sobs hiccupping their way out of his sore throat. He wasn’t on that damn field.

But where he was wasn’t all that better.

“Takeru, are you with me?”

The boy sucked in an unsteady breath.

“Taichi?”

“Shit, Yamato is going to skin me alive when this is over…”

It was Taichi. Taichi crushing him in a rib cracking hug. Taichi shielding him from the heat of the flames that raged around them. Metalgreymon stood protectively over the two, breathing endless fire and stopping anything from getting anywhere near his charges.

Takeru blinked, disoriented by the sudden change in setting, despite knowing that he hadn’t actually left the beach. He slumped back against his friend, taking comfort in the steady (if a little fast) thump of his heartbeat.

“Is Seraphimon okay?” he croaked.

His leader loosened his grip slightly.

“He isn’t moving, but he hasn’t devolved either. I think he’ll be just fine. Megakabuterimon has him. The others arrived with the rest of the crests just as you got hit. They’re keeping the heat off us for now, but we need to figure out what we’re going to do. Are you okay enough to keep going?”

The chosen of hope swallowed thickly, flinching when a piercing screech came from behind them.

“I- yeah, I think I need a minute, but I can stay.”

“If you say so, kiddo, but a minute is all we’re going to have.”

Ken and Jewelbeemon swerved in the air and came in for a landing beside them. Ken was ashen, wide, dark eyes staring at Takeru like he’d never seen anything like the boy before. He staggered through the shifting sand, speaking in clipped tones when he gave Taichi an update.

“Daisuke and Exvee-mon are okay. They’re pretty banged up, but Aquilamon and Miyako took them a little ways away to recover for a bit. Hikari and Angewomon went to help get everyone’s crests to the right people. But Takeru, how- How did you do that?”

The boy frowned, not sure what Ken meant.

“What, freak out? It was easy,” he muttered, wanting to hide his face in Taichi’s sleeve.

“No, I mean that light! It pushed all the ghosts back, and when they got back up, they stopped fighting. They just walked away. I think you purified them. And you’ve done something like that before. Back when we were in the woods you managed to manipulate your crest into a wall of light. Can you do it again?”

Takeru floundered.

“I don’t- I don’t know? I can activate it, but I’ve never tried to make it do anything on purpose!”

Taichi let go of him, brown eyes scanning the beach calculatingly.

“If that thing can make the crest of light do all that, I don’t see why you couldn’t.”

The blond boy looked back and forth between his two friends, Ken’s face a mix of hope and desperation.

“I think you guys are overestimating me…”

“And you’re underestimating yourself, Takeru.” Taichi’s voice was strong. “You survived years in the digital world pretty much on your own. You and Seraphimon took down someone the rest of us had been fighting, and losing against mind you, for weeks. In two shots. Quinglongmon said that the shield crests were made to combat darkness. To purify other crests. That monster still has my sister’s damn crest, so yours is still crazy powerful to match it. I know your crest is hope but have a little confidence. You know what? Here. Have some courage.”

The older boy pulled his necklace out from under his shirt and removed it, slipping the cord over Takeru’s head. Above them, Metalgreymon devolved to Greymon, not questioning his abrupt shift in form and continuing to fight.

Takeru could do nothing but stare at his leader, dumbstruck.

“And you,” Taichi rounded on Ken. “There is no way that you’ve come all this way and fought through all your shit to have Takeru steal all the glory. You’re a shield crest too. I’ll bet you could muster up some magic if you tried.”

The chosen of kindness sputtered. Jewelbeemon patted his back encouragingly.

Takeru reached up and touched the crest of courage reverently. He could barely believe Taichi had given him his _crest_. Even when he was little, he’d thought courage was the coolest. So fitting of a kid who ran fearlessly into battle no matter the odds. He’d always wished he could be that brave.

Determination flooded him the way it had two nights before. This whole mess had gone on far too long. It was time to finish it once and for all. They all deserved some peace.

The crest of hope alighted, its heat stretching deep and chasing the chill from his bones.

“We won’t let you down, Taichi,” he said, looking evenly into his friend’s warm brown eyes.

He didn’t wait to hear Taichi’s response, grabbing Ken by the wrist and running out of Greymon’s circle of protection. The taller boy stumbled at first, then righted himself and easily kept up with Takeru. Jewelbeemon buzzed over their heads as they took off across the sand, ready to defend them if necessary.

“All right, Ken! I know you’ve only had your crest for like a day, but Taichi’s right! We can do this! We’ll just have to learn as we go!”

In front of them the beach teemed with ghosts, and beyond their friends did their best to keep the skeletal monster at bay.

They couldn’t let anyone else get hurt.

Takeru slowed when the first of the ghosts noticed their prey right there on the ground with them. He tried to dredge up the feeling he had when his crest reacted in the woods and when he’d blasted back the ghosts just a minute ago… but those were reactions based out of terror, out of total panic. That couldn’t be right. There must be a way to activate the crest and _direct_ it somehow without having to be scared out of his wits.

“Come on…” Takeru focused all his energy on pulling at the spot of heat on his chest.

In front of him, a shimmer of gold flickered. It was by no means a shield, because the ghosts simply swerved around it and it only lasted a second, but he considered it a success.

Exhaustion swelled through his body, and he gasped. Never mind. That wasn’t right. He hadn’t felt tired at all after sending out much more energy before.

“Okay, okay, don’t try to force it, Ken. It feels awful after!”

The dark-haired boy held him by the arm to steady him. Jewelbeemon swiped with his five-pointed staff to knock back the approaching ghosts.

“How are we supposed to know what to do? No one is making any progress against that thing and we’re the only ones who can get the crest of light back, but I don’t know how-“ Ken babbled nervously.

Takeru wracked his brain. He tried again and again to produce a shield, a beam, anything that could help them or pierce the monster’s dome.

The harder he tried, the deeper he dug, the feebler the wisps of gold that appeared were.

Something wasn’t right, it shouldn’t be this hard. Why did he have to keep reaching and reaching when he knew the crest was right here, thrumming with energy? Why had it burst out of him so readily when he hadn’t even been thinking about it?

Unless he just…

Oh.

“Look out!”

Ken yanked him down into the wet sand, a pitch-black beam speeding toward the trio.

Jewelbeemon flung himself in front of the boys, but the beam never hit.

Takeru threw out his hand and a pulsing dome of golden light formed around them. The black beam slammed into it with the force of a freight train, but the instant it came in contact with the shield, the black changed to a magnificent yellow. The bright color raced back up the beam, and the demon was forced to break off the attack before it reached the crest of light.

The dark creature bellowed in dismay, shrinking away from the blinding light.

“Yes! Oh my god, _yes!_ ” Takeru was ecstatic.

“How- how did that happen?” Ken lay slack jawed in the sand beside him. 

Takeru let the dome fall, then threw up a smaller one to push back the ghosts reeling around them. He let out an incredulous laugh.

“Okay, okay, I don’t think I can really explain it, but I thought the crests were the things with all the power, right?” He helped the stunned boy to his feet and they took off towards their friends, Takeru calling over his shoulder. “I kept trying to grab some of the crest’s energy, and it was so hard. Like, like I was, oh my gosh this is going to sound so corny! It was like hauling water out of a well, and I was tiring myself out, but it had been easy earlier… so I must have been thinking about it the wrong way.”

The blond boy paused in his explanation to suck in a few deep breaths as they plowed their way through the sea of ghosts.

“So, what if instead of the crest having all the power and I’m borrowing it, what if it was less like a well and more like a river, or an ocean?” He glanced sideways towards the bleak water with a scowl. “Okay, not an ocean. But instead of having to haul the water up, what if I just dipped my hand in? I don’t have to work so hard if it’s my crest, right? I mean, they don’t call us ‘the kids with the chosen crests’, do they? We’re the chosen children, and these crests are ours. I’m the ‘Chosen of Hope’, so this power is mine!”

Ahead of them a wave of ghosts rose up and attempted to knock Lillymon out of the air with a dozen well aimed black bolts. Takeru crossed his fingers and attempted to create a bubble of light around her instead of himself.

The light wavered unevenly, but the shield held, and the blots ricocheted off with a strange, reverberating sound.

Lillymon gaped at them.

“On my gosh, it works.” Takeru looked at his hands in delight.

“Give it a chance, Ken,” Jewelbeemon offered softly.

The chosen of kindness wrung his hands together.

“I’m not sure there’s anything I can do… The crest of hope was supposed to be the only shield crest. I was just a backup, and I already messed up so bad.” He stared with wide eyes up at the increasingly desperate battle in front of them.

Takeru threw up a shield around them, spinning to look his taller friend in the eyes. Under his shirt the crest of courage clinked against his own.

“You know what? Maybe I was supposed to be the only shield crest, but that was a long time ago and it doesn’t _matter_ anymore. I’ve been by myself way too long, and I don’t know much of what happened to you, but it sounds like you’ve been alone just as long as I have. We can do this together. We can be a little team just the two of us.”

Ken’s eyes watered when Takeru held his hand out to him. The chosen of kindness swallowed thickly.

And then he took his hand.

A whirlwind of energy swirled around them. Takeru could feel the spirit of all three crests humming under his skin. He broke into a brilliant smile at the shocked happiness on Ken’s face.

Before the swirl completely died down, a blinding flash illuminated the beach from above them.

The boys stumbled back, guarding their eyes from the glare.

“No way…” Ken mumbled in awe.

Jewelbeemon had been replaced by a magnificent humanoid beetle. He wasn’t nearly as large as Megakabuterimon, but he had to have at least tripled in size. The mega level digimon stood proudly, a massive staff clutched in its armored claws. His wings shimmered, a metallic mix of light green and lavender.

“Holy…”

“Hello, Ken.” The new digimon’s voice echoed in the stunned silence that had overcome the beach. “I am Hijiribitomon.”

Takeru giggled when all Ken could do was nod with his mouth hanging open, completely dumbstruck.

Behind them, the creature let out a screech of fear and defiance. The whole battle it had struck to the shallows, but now it surged forward, stampeding towards the newly evolved mega. The others had to scramble out of the way as it mercilessly trampled the myriads of ghosts that couldn’t move fast enough. It shot out a black beam aimed directly for the two boys.

When Jewelbeemon had evolved Takeru had dropped their dome, and he hastened to put up another.

Ken beat him to it.

The chosen of kindness threw his hands up and an iridescent purple shield burst into being just in time.

Takeru whooped.

Hijiribitomon hurled his staff at the creature like a javelin. It struck the shield of darkness so hard it got stuck, bizarre cracks extending outward from the pole like branches. Then the cracks blazed with purple light and the glow began streaming outward from them around the shield.

The monster was forced to drop the defense before it was completely overtaken by the purifying light. It tried to raise another shield before the others were able to sneak an attack in, but before it could-

“Strike of the Seven Stars!”

Balls of golden light came flying in from the right, smashing into the turtle’s skull hard enough to send it reeling. It staggered, but did not lose its footing entirely, another dark dome rising to protect it from a second assault.

“Takeru!”

“Seraphimon!”

Takeru was climbing his partner the instant the digimon landed. He hugged the armored angel as hard as he could, laying his head on its shoulder plate and breathing a sigh of relief.

“I’m so sorry we got separated, Takeru. I’m glad you’re okay.” He patted the boy on the back gently. “But this is not the time for talking. We’ve got work to do.”

Takeru turned in his partner’s arms to look at the corrupted creature. He nodded and let himself drop to his feet in the sand.

“Let’s get it.”

As if the monstrous abomination had heard him, it again raged towards them, shooting blasts from the crest of light incessantly.

Ken raised a shield over the four of them while Takeru threw one up over their friends the best he could, protecting them from stray shots or debris. Hijiribitomon flew ahead to retrieve his discarded staff out of the sand while Seraphimon rose up to unleash a Hallowed Ascension.

The two digimon fought fiercely, the dark creature throwing up shields so quickly it looked like a black strobe light. Attacks from the other chosen digimon slipped in sporadically. It irritated the monster further but did not seem to do any lasting damage. It pressed forward, edging its way up the beach.

Finally infuriated beyond all reason, the creature gave up using the crest to shoot his opponents down and instead swiped at them with massive clawed hands. Seraphimon had to swoop high and outside to avoid getting bludgeoned. Hijiribitomon danced just out of range, bringing up his staff to block the vicious blows. Takeru and Ken were so focused on their partners fighting for their lives that they failed to notice just how close the enemy was inching.

Takeru cried out, flinging a shield up just in time to stop the bony hand the size of a car that came swinging at them. It hit the energy shield and glanced off, burying its claws in the sand.

“That was too close!”

A second hand came immediately after, swiping at the ground in front of the boys. The claws dug two-feet-deep gouges into the beach, throwing so much sand up onto Takeru’s shield that the boys could not see out of it.

The chosen of hope wrung his hands. He didn’t want to drop the shield, but if they couldn’t see, the monster could attack their friends and they wouldn’t be able to send a shield to protect them either. The ongoing sounds of battle rang hauntingly in his ears. Eyes wide, he looked to Ken for guidance.

The other boy’s eyes were as scared as his own, but he nodded.

Takeru dropped the shield and sand poured down on them. He sheltered his face in the crook of his elbow to avoid getting enormous amounts of silt in his eyes and mouth.

A startled yelp from Ken sent Takeru whipping his head up just in time to see the demon turtle’s head only feet from them, jaws open wide. In his terror, Takeru lost his footing and went tumbling backwards. A purple shield raised up, but before it was fully formed the monster was crashing through it. A scaly, clawed hand came hurtling down on the boys too quickly for them to roll away from. All the breath left Takeru in a great whoosh, an immense weight pressing him into the loose, gritty sand. He gasped fruitlessly, his ribcage refusing to expand.

Desperate, Takeru raised a strong shield. The thick gold separated him from the snapping jaws of the dark creature but did not remove the hand attempting to break his ribs. His heart hammered in his chest and he squirmed wildly, fingers scrabbling in the sand.

“Oh my god, oh my god…” he wheezed, casting his eyes around for Ken.

He found him only a couple yards away, not pinned as solidly as he, but pinned by scaly, bony fingers nonetheless. He was stomach down, arms straining to pull himself free as he dug his elbows dug into the wet sand.

Above them, their partners were roaring, throwing everything they had at the beast. The other digimon fought with a ferocity Takeru had never seen. The turtle was getting showered with attacks, its shield flickering and only blocking half of what shot towards it. No matter what it was hit by, it ignored, preferring to bite viciously at the yellow dome. Every time it was struck, Takeru could feel a pulse from the crest of light that sent dark energy surging to the area, strengthening, reinforcing.

A shift in the monster’s weight forced Takeru deeper into the sand. He swore he could feel every granule trying to imbed itself into his back. He could feel the crests of hope and courage digging into his collarbone, bright lights in this terrible, bleak world. He could feel the abyss of darkness that was the crest of light, pressed above his hip…

At his hip.

It was _touching_ him.

And while that meant that one blast would undoubtedly kill him… this was probably going to be his only chance. He better make it count.

“Ken!” He coughed, reaching over his head towards the boy.

His weak cry caught Ken’s attention and the chosen of kindness stretched his arm out, no breath to ask questions with.

They weren’t close enough.

Takeru struggled, stretching with everything he had. Ken worked just as hard, and then-

Takeru hooked his fingertips with Ken’s. Cleansing energy raced through him, a light so bright he clenched his eyes shut against it. It enveloped the crest of light and flared blindingly, shooting up through the dark creature’s arm. Every tendril of dark energy Takeru could feel holding the abomination together changed to a beautiful, clear glow.

Above him, the creature cried out in shock, pulling its hand back to see the crest for itself. Except, when it released its hold on Takeru, the crest simply dropped from where it had been imbedded in its skin.

The crest of light was free.

It fell into the sand beside Takeru with a soft thump and the boy quickly snatched it up in shaky hands. He exchanged a brief glance with Ken, neither of them comprehending that they’d actually succeeded in cleansing the Source Crest.

Takeru lay on the beach, catching his breath while the sounds of the one sided fight flipped. The chosen of hope brought the crest up so that he could see it for the first time. Running a thumb over the shining surface to remove a film of silt from it, he took in the crest of light’s stunning star pattern.

Its glittering face was the last thing he saw before he passed out.


	14. Peace

There was something tapping his cheek.

Maybe.

Waking up was like slogging through waist deep mud. That is to say, it felt nearly impossible. His eyelids refused to open. Each finger weighed a hundred pounds. His brain was mush. Nothing he felt made any sense. He was sinking down in the sand, away from consciousness again. It was too much effort to be awake.

Something patted his face a little less gently.

“Come on, Teeks…”

Takeru inwardly frowned. He didn’t like that. Why… why didn’t he like that?

The ground beneath him rumbled.

“Takeru, please!”

Oh, no, no that was Yamato. His big brother was never supposed to sound like that. That voice was too scared, too desperate to be Yamato.

The chosen of hope struggled to wake his exhausted body. Something was wrong. There was something missing. His fatigued brain couldn’t process what it was. His head hurt. His chest was too small for his lungs to pull in a proper breath. He gasped against the sensation and choked, pain flaring along the side of his ribs.

Takeru squeezed his eyes shut further, body tensing. His fingernails pressed into the palms of his hands, and that… that was wrong too.

That was bad.

The boy recoiled from the hands on his face and arms, jerking to awareness with a start. He searched his empty hands in dismay, casting his eyes frantically around in the sand. Where was it? Voices were yelling. Probably at him. Moving around so much hurt and his head was swimming, but he couldn’t-

“Where’s the crest?” Came out of his mouth in a garbled rush.

Larger hands grasped him by the shoulders and pulled him around to the front. Yamato’s face was a mess of fear and relief and a hint of something stern. An angry patch of what resembled road rash ran along his jawline.

“Stop it, Takeru. Hikari’s got it. Calm down. Jyou thinks you have broken ribs, okay? You’re done. Just relax.” His tone was clipped with stress.

“I said bruised ribs, Yamato. That’s not the same thing.” Jyou crouched down next to his brother, aiming a small flashlight at the boy’s face.

Takeru ducked his head and raised unsteady hands up to block the light. The world tilted the wrong way.

“I’m definitely concussed, Jyou. Please don’t check. I’ll throw up, I promise.”

The older boy reluctantly lowered the light, sighing.

Yamato tightened his grip on his little brother, looking disturbed.

“I thought you only- What happened? When did you hit your head?”

Takeru blinked up into his brother’s worried blue eyes. It hurt to think. Something still didn’t feel quite right, and it was nagging at him. It made it difficult to decide whether or not to lie about falling who knows how far off his partner. Twice.

“Him and Daisuke both got shot down on our way in…” Ken’s hesitant voice had Takeru cautiously craning his neck around to see the boy. He’d been so quiet the chosen of hope hadn’t realized he was just a few feet away. Jyou was checking his ribs too, prodding gently at the boy’s side.

Yamato looked like he didn’t know whether to burst into hysterical laughter or tears. He just stared at his little brother for a moment before settling on a noise that was somewhere in between.

“You’re okay too?” Takeru asked quietly, eyeing the red skin on his brother’s face.

“You’re going to give me an ulcer,” he muttered, pulling Takeru in for a cautious hug. That didn’t answer his question.

Takeru leaned in slowly, laying his head on Yamato’s shoulder and grimacing. His shirt was gritty and scratched at his already sensitive skin. Yamato gave him the softest squeeze possible, wary of his sore ribs. Takeru sagged against him, just happy for a moment that they had both made it through.

The child of hope peeked up over his brother’s shoulder.

He was aware enough to know that the fight was not quite over. The air rang with attack cries, and the sound of water sloshing around was hard to miss, but Takeru was surprised at the scene playing out in the water.

The monster had either been pushed back or was retreating, because it had been a decent way onto the beach, and now it was back out to sea. Waves crashed around its knees as it protested weakly against the barrage of energy beams raining down on it. Its form pixelated and glitched randomly, impeding its ability to brace itself or dodge. It snapped and swiped at the digimon, seemingly unable to attack back without the crest of light in its possession.

Seraphimon, Hijiribitomon and a stunning pink dragon, Holydramon, attacked without mercy.

Takeru’s eyebrows furrowed and he hid his face in Yamato’s neck. He didn’t want to watch. Devimon had perished in one blow. Dakuyagimon had died while Takeru was passed out. Blackwargreymon had gone down fighting… but this? This wasn’t a fair fight anymore.

He flinched and covered his ears when the creature let out a pitiful scream. Yamato held him a little tighter.

With his eyes closed, what was missing finally became apparent.

“I can’t feel anything,” he mumbled into the crook of his brother’s neck. He continued before anyone misconstrued that for an admission to another injury. “Dark and light, I mean. I can’t sense any of it anymore. I think that’s what knocked me out.”

His onii-chan hummed.

It made sense, Takeru thought. When the power had come to him he’d blacked out too. He had woken up anxious, jittery, and sick. Adrenaline coursing through him long after the fight was over. Now, he was drained. His body like lead. Balance was restored, and the light was spread through three crests, if not all nine.

He wondered briefly if he would miss it.

A horrible screech rang out over the beach and Takeru couldn’t stop himself from looking up. The turtle demon crashed down into the waves, releasing a burst of thick, dark fog. It felt like the whole world held its collective breath.

A hand brushed the back of his arm timidly. Ken.

“Look,” the chosen of kindness breathed.

It was just a single sparkle at first. Then more drifted up from the fog ever so slowly.

Data.

“Oh, thank God, it’s over,” Jyou groaned.

Yamato seemed to deflate, most of the tension escaping his stiff posture. He pulled back from Takeru and stood, keeping a hand on his shoulder.

Takeru figured he should be relieved. His friends were crying out with joy, whooping at their success. The digimon devolved in a stutter of bright lights, the high-pitched voices of their younger forms echoing strangely across the beach. The ghosts had mostly dispersed when the crest had been purified, but a few stuck around, mildly interested in these loud intruders.

The chosen children ran over to where the boys sat in the sand, all smiles. The older chosen were almost giddy, clutching their recovered crests with reverence. Takeru gave the group a quick once over. It was clear that no one had been seriously injured, just some scrapes and bruises. Sora and Daisuke had so much sand in their hair that it sprinkled all over the place as they moved. Iori’s clothes hung heavily off his small frame, still dripping and sandy up to the knees, but the boy was grinning nonetheless.

Everyone was congratulating Takeru, patting him on the back and ruffling his hair. Ken too, and it was clear the boy was unused to so much attention. He flushed beet red and clutched Wormmon close when the digimon crawled up into his lap. His slight winces told Takeru that he wasn’t the only one who was sore.

“Takeru!”

The boy’s heart leapt when he heard Patamon’s gleeful cry. He threw out his arms and his partner swooped low and dropped into them, breathing heavily.

“Pata, are you okay? I’m so sorry we got separated. I love you, buddy…” he whispered to his partner, Patamon pressing their faces together and rubbing on him like a cat. It made Takeru’s head throb to have Patamon so close. His eyes didn’t want to focus on him and each push against his face forced him to suck back a hiss of discomfort. But he would never complain about Patamon snuggling him.

“Takeru! I’m so happy you’re alright!” Patamon chirped. “I was scared when you fell, but you and Ken are amazing. I knew you could do it!”

Takeru turned to exchange a look with the other boy, but Ken wasn’t looking at him. The chosen of kindness was gazing out towards the ocean, an unreadable expression on his face.

Concerned, Takeru turned blue eyes out towards the water as well.

The creature’s data was still there.

It glimmered in the air above the water. Little bits of it broke off and went in different directions. Out to sea. Up towards the slate grey clouds and even towards the beach. Each shimmering cluster returned to where it originated, like the smallest of scouting parties.

Takeru’s heart twisted in his chest.

There was nowhere in this world for the monster’s leftover data to rest. The world itself was the resting grounds for digimon that perished between evolutions in the digital world, and for corrupted files from the real world… but for something to have come to life here and died again? Was there even enough digimon data left over to birth a whole creature? Or would it be forever incomplete, cursed to float aimlessly in this dark world until the end of time?

They didn’t defeat it so that it could suffer like this.

Takeru was stumbling to his feet before he even processed what he was doing. From the sound of it, Ken wasn’t far behind him.

“Takeru, what are you-?” His brother lurched to catch him as he pitched forward slightly, the sand shifting awkwardly under his feet.

The chosen of hope slipped from his grasp and staggered down to the water. His legs felt like jelly, but he pushed forward regardless.

“Takeru, stop! Where are you going?” He paid no heed to his friends’ concerned cries behind him.

Patamon stayed silent, little claws curled tightly in the cloth of Takeru’s damp sweatshirt.

He barely noticed when his feet entered the water, his sneakers becoming water-logged and cumbersome. The ocean was just as freezing as before, and Takeru shivered absently, not taking his eyes off the eddying sparkles just above the water. His ears vaguely registered splashes that were not his. Ken must have followed. Yamato maybe.

The wide-eyed boy waded further, heart sick and sad. There had to be something he could do. He hated that killing digimon was sometimes necessary. The child of hope had always taken comfort in the fact that the digimon would be cleansed of all bugs and viruses and begin a new life. The thought that there might not be anything he could do to help now that balance had been restored made his throat tighten. That wasn’t fair.

But then again, life wasn’t fair.

When the water reached his waist, he slowed. The data was still a ways out, but he didn’t trust this ocean not to drag him under if he were foolish enough to continue.

The blond boy paused uncertainly, then he held out his hands out and beckoned to the data.

“You… you wanted to leave this world, right?” Takeru’s voice was hardly a whisper in the silence that reigned over the beach. “You can come with us, I think. I mean… we can try.”

Dark water lapped at his shirt, weighing him down.

The data didn’t move, and Takeru wondered if it could hear him at all. If it was even sentient enough to process his sounds as words.

Then it slowly floated closer.

Takeru didn’t dare breathe as the data collected over his hands. A slight tingle flared up in his skin wherever a sparkle got especially close. The glow from the data was enough to make Takeru’s eyes water, and just when he was about to close them, the light died, and an egg dropped into his hands.

The chosen of hope was frozen. The egg was cool to the touch, not warm like Patamon’s had been. It was a light grey with dirty green triangles smattered across its shell. The thing was whole and smooth, but it didn’t look healthy.

Takeru turned around, not entirely surprised to see Ken and Wormmon only a few yards away, faces solemn.

The boys locked eyes and then looked down to the egg. Ken bit his lip.

“It doesn’t smell right…” Patamon murmured.

Wormmon nodded, whining in agreement.

The boys waded back to shore where their friends all stood with faces stuck in various states of shock and unease. Hikari alone was smiling a little, and in her arms, Tailmon leaned out and squinted at the egg calculatingly.

“How…” Koushiro broke the quiet. “How was there enough digimon data in that thing to make a new whole digimon? Once the crest of light was purified it was obvious it was incomplete and unstable. It never spoke or had any digimon-like attacks or anything. What on earth did the data merge with to make such a monster anyway? It had to have had a substantial number of viruses in it to make it so malicious, but what if there wasn’t enough of a digimon’s consciousness to make it aware? Maybe it merged with a scrapped AI project that someone was working on…”

Koushiro continued to talk, raking his hands through his hair.

“Takeru,” Taichi said, staring at the grey egg warily. “What are you going to do with that?”

“I’d like to take it to Primary Village.” His voice was not as confident as he wanted it to be.

Yamato looked like he was going to vomit.

“But that thing tried to kill us. And you. Especially you!” Mimi cried, pulling herself away from it.

“Yeah man, that turtle guy was bad news. That egg looks kind of messed up.” Daisuke made a face.

“What if it’s still evil? Bringing it to the digital world just gives us a new enemy to fight there when it grows up. At least if we leave it here, it’s stuck where it can’t hurt other digimon,” Jyou reasoned.

Sora was thoughtful, her eyes soft as she took in the nervous faces of their two Shield Crests. Beside her, Iori’s face was stormy with indecision.

Takeru couldn’t bring himself to answer. It wasn’t like anything they were saying was untrue. His stomach clenched. How could he get them to understand how he felt? ‘I felt bad for it’ wasn’t going to change anyone’s mind.

“I don’t want that thing anywhere near us. Or anywhere near the other babies,” Miyako said fervently.

The digimon were quiet, slinking closer to Ken and Takeru, sniffing at the air and frowning.

Takeru opened and closed his mouth a couple times, unable to tear his eyes from his brother’s distressed face.

“Takeru, please… Leave that thing here. We need to go home. You need to go to the hospital…”

The chosen of hope couldn’t argue that, his head was pounding, and his ribs ached something fierce; Takeru shook his head weakly anyway. Some things were more important.

“But…”

“I think that if you guys were willing to give me a second chance, this digimon deserves one too.”

Takeru whipped around to Ken. The taller boy’s voice was sad but firm.

“The crest of light has been purified and returned to Hikari. The monster died. That in itself should mean that its been cleared of any viruses or glitches. If there was enough data left over for something to be reborn, then there is a baby digimon in that egg that will have no memories of corruption or violence against us. Why should we condemn it to living in a world made for the dead? We should give it to Elecmon. He can monitor the baby for any signs of something going wrong. I can help. If this is my choice and you all disagree then it can be my responsibility.”

Takeru beamed at him. The others looked a little guilty, and not for the first time Takeru wondered what had happened to Ken while he was away.

“I’ll keep watch over him when I’m in the digital world,” Patamon chirped diligently.

“It should be my responsibility too.”

“What? Hikari, no!” Taichi balked at his sister’s declaration.

The small girl stepped forward, gently reaching out and brushing her fingers along the egg’s dull surface.

“Let me do this, Taichi, please? Everyone worked so hard to get my crest back, Ken and Takeru particularly. The three of us can make sure this digimon is happy and cared for and has no reason to turn to darkness ever again.”

The chosen of hope looked between Hikari and Ken happily. They _understood_.

Taichi and Yamato exchanged a look, both unsettled and exasperated at the decisions their younger siblings tended to make.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Sora said. “Elecmon can help us watch it, and if it starts showing signs of glitches, well… we’ll figure something out if it comes to that.”

Piyomon and a few other digimon nodded enthusiastically.

Takeru’s heart swelled at the support of these wonderful people. He hugged the chilled egg closer, ignoring how it made him want to shiver.

“Alright, Patamon! Do you have enough energy to open another portal?”

* * *

Stepping into the digital world was so refreshing Takeru could hardly believe it. The air was warm and smelled of grass, and fallen leaves, and everything good and clean and pure. He took big lungfuls (or as big as his protesting ribs would allow) and felt himself relax for the first time in what felt like weeks… or potentially years, but that sounded awfully dramatic.

“Oh my god, let’s never go back there!” Daisuke threw himself belly first into the long grass and groaned. V-mon flopped on top of him, stretching out like he could nap right then and there.

Takeru smiled at him, sticking close to the portal as everyone hopped through. Yamato hovered beside him, Gabumon watching the brothers constantly. Taichi and Koushiro were last, and then Holyangemon himself flew in, closing the portal behind him.

Takeru peeked down at the egg in his arms, mouth puckering at the sight of it. In the bright light of the sun it was even more evident that it wasn’t normal. The grey was uneven and swirled across the surface of the shell like smoke. He patted the top of the egg softly, hoping it could comfort the baby digimon inside.

The bright light of Holyangemon devolving gave him the sudden idea.

“Wait!” He reached for his partner. “Wait, Holyangemon. Hang on!”

The angel re-emerged from the dying light, alarm written in his posture. The others tensed, startled by his tone.

“What is it?” His partner asked.

Takeru didn’t know if this would have any effect, but there was no harm in trying.

“Holyangemon… could, could you try to heal it?” Hope fluttered in his chest.

The others drew closer, quiet.

“What do you mean, Teeks?” Yamato put a hand on his shoulder.

Takeru stared up at the angel digimon imploringly.

“Holyangemon can heal things, it’s a power he has. Like how he can make portals. Please? Just give it a try. It’s not like it could hurt it.”

The perfect level digimon reached out and gently cupped Takeru’s cheek.

“I can’t guarantee anything, Takeru. This may be beyond my powers…”

Takeru swallowed against the lump in his throat, nodding. He stepped back slightly and held the egg up for his partner. The chosen of hope did his best to ignore the feeling of everyone’s eyes on them. It may do nothing. He had to prepare himself for that… but it was so hard not to at least hope.

“Heavenly Heal.” His partner’s voice rang out clearly in the warm air.

A swirl of multicolored light wrapped itself around the sickly egg. Takeru shut his eyes against how bright it was, praying that when he opened them, there would be some sort of visible difference in the egg’s health.

“Well, would you look at that…” Gommamon muttered.

Takeru peeked one eye open and couldn’t help but let out a tiny noise of excitement. The egg was certainly still a little stained, but the grey had lightened significantly. He ran a thumb over the triangles, now a cheerful mint green.

“Well, shit…” Taichi looked at the changed egg in wonderment. “It doesn’t look so bad now, huh.”

“It doesn’t smell so bad either!” Piyomon chirped, and Takeru crouched down to let the other digimon inspect it.

Gabumon left Yamato’s side to get a closer look. Tailmon too, hopped out of Hikari’s arms to crowd in around it with Agumon, Tentomon, and V-mon. Armadimon took longer than the others to sniff every inch of the shell, eventually giving Iori a smile and declaring it “Only a little weird”.

“Takeru, I… I have so many questions.” Koushiro looked like he had blown a fuse, eyes wide and curious. “Which I will ask later, because obviously we all need to go home and rest, of course.” He ended with an uncomfortable smile.

Takeru caught sight of the menacing face his brother was making at the poor chosen of knowledge. He felt so light, even with a serious headache and aching ribs, he laughed. The egg was warm against his palms now. It was a bit strange not being able to feel the light around him, or the potential darkness in the egg, but he was confident he could settle back into “normal” after a little time.

He smiled up at Yamato, Patamon landing on the older boy’s shoulder and startling him.

They had all the time in the world.


	15. And We Go On

Takeru bit his lip as nervous fingers hesitated to open the heavy envelope. His heart felt awfully fluttery in his chest and he forced himself to take a deep slow breath. Things would be okay no matter what it said.

“Teeks, if you stare any longer you’re going to burn a hole through it.” Yamato’s sudden voice startled him enough that he twitched hard and Patamon almost fell off his shoulder.

“Yamato leave him alone,” Hiroaki admonished, pausing for a minute before… “Do you want me to open it, son?”

“You two are impossible,” his mom muttered, her tone more amused than irritated.

Takeru flushed, clutching the official letter tighter.

“I’ve got it!” he said, embarrassed about how worked up he was getting.

Before he completely lost his nerve, he ripped open the letter and pulled out the report. His blue eyes skimmed all the flowery writing until he found what he was looking for.

“Ugh, man!” Takeru groaned and flopped back onto the couch, sliding down to the floor with the paper still in his hand. He lay face down on the living room carpet, moaning dramatically in his despair.

Someone plucked the letter out of his hand and there was a moment of quiet.

“Takeru, honey, this isn’t so bad…” His mom patted the back of his head lightly.

“Fourth!” He grouched, voice muffled. “I tested into _fourth grade_!”

He could hear Yamato chuckling at him.

“Oh, come on, kiddo, it says you can finish up the school year in fourth and so long as you keep getting tutored, you can retest in the spring. You can join everyone next year in sixth grade,” his father offered.

The boy made a low, miserable sound.

“And think about it, Teeks, you’re so small none of the other kids will suspect you’re almost two years older than most of them,” Yamato snickered.

Takeru’s head popped up, offended.

“That’s not funny, Onii-chan!"

* * *

“I feel weird… I don’t- I don’t like it.” Takeru fisted his hands in the sleeves of his new jacket, growing breathless. He missed Patamon. His solid weight on his shoulder. His easygoing chatter. He felt itchy without his partner beside him. Anxious.

Unsafe.

His mother rested a hand on his back, steadying him.

“We’ll be quick. You’re doing great, honey. Just a few more minutes and then we can head home, okay?”

Takeru nodded, eyes wide.

It was just grocery shopping. Just a little while where he would leave Patamon at home. An hour, max. They weren’t even doing a full shop, just some things they’d been missing. Takeru named all the items in the cart methodically.

Something banged behind him and he whipped around, alarmed. He was suddenly clenching his digivice. He didn’t remember taking it out of his pocket.

It was just a group of middle schoolers. They’d knocked into a shelf of dry pasta and sent a few boxes tumbling. The boys laughed and picked them up, pushing each other around and blaming each other. Everything was fine. There was no danger here. It was a store.

His mother noticed his trembling.

“Takeru,“ she was being so quiet. So gentle. “Honey, do you want to hold my hand?”

His immediate reaction was yes. Yes, he very much wanted to cry and have his mom hold his hand and tell him everything was okay. But the older boys had caught him staring and were starting to stare back. He was going on eleven. Almost eleven-year-old boys didn’t hold their mommy’s hands at the grocery store.

Takeru turned his back on them.

“No thank you,” he forced out.

He could feel his mother eyeing him critically and he tried to school his face into something less nervous.

They turned down another aisle and Takeru was relieved when they weren’t in view of the middle schoolers anymore.

“Can you hold this, sweetheart? I don’t want to have it fall over and crack the eggs.” Natsuko waited for her son to hold out his hands before handing him a bag of flour.

Takeru’s eyebrows flew up when his anxiety suddenly melted away. It wasn’t completely gone, but it receded to manageable levels. He looked back and forth between the bag and his mom, open mouthed. What kind of sorcery was this?

His mother smiled softly.

“Feel any better?”

Takeru hugged the flour, smiling back at her through his confusion.

It took him ten more minutes of shopping to realize the bag of flour weighed about the same as a certain digimon.

* * *

Takeru flipped open the screen of his D-Terminal when it beeped merrily at him.

He took in the message, a strange type of anxious excitement welling up in his chest. He hopped off his bed and flew down the hall to his father’s office.

“Dad! Dad, Elecmon says the egg hatched! He says the baby digimon looks okay and we can come see it. Can I go? Please?” He restrained himself from bouncing in place. “Patamon is already there.”

His father turned around in his chair, frowning.

“You don’t want to wait for Yamato to get out of band practice? I don’t want you going in alone, even if Patamon is there.”

Takeru scrunched up his nose. After years of living in the digital world, you’d think his parents would think of him as a little more capable.

A flurry of beeps echoed from the device and Takeru pulled up the new messages in lieu of answering his dad.

“I won’t be alone,” he said happily. “Ken and some others want to go meet the new digimon too.”

His father held out his hand for the D-Terminal and Takeru’s spirits were too high to be soured by the invasion of privacy. Hiroaki gave the messages a quick scan and looked back to his youngest son with a stern face.

“Yamato is going to be angry if you go without him,” he warned, handing the device back.

Takeru huffed.

“I… Yeah, I know that. But I need to do this. And Onii-san knows that. He’ll get over it.”

“Alright, kiddo, don’t be too long, okay?”

He shot his dad a blinding smile and took off down the hall again.

“He may forgive you if you bring Gabumon back with you!” his father called behind him

Takeru was still laughing when his feet hit the grass.

* * *

“What’s the matter, Natsuko? Something wrong with the sushi?”

Takeru looked up from his meal, his mother had definitely been quiet this evening. It’d been months since their weekly family dinner had been this awkward. He’d run out of things to talk about a few minutes back and neither Yamato nor his dad had tried to fill the silence.

His brother peered at their fidgeting mother out of the corner of his eye.

“No, no, the sushi is fine. I just… have a lot on my mind.”

“Anything we can help with?” Takeru found himself asking, hoping the ‘we’ wasn’t a false assumption.

Natsuko chewed on the inside of her cheek before answering.

“No, darling. It’s not anything that needs helping, per say, but thank you. It’s- It’s not bad, I promise. Just sensitive maybe. I got a phone call yesterday, Takeru.”

The boy put his chopsticks down, curious.

“Yeah?”

“Do you remember your little friend, Eiji? From Setagaya?”

Wow. Now that was a blast from the past. Takeru furrowed his brow, the name was familiar of course, but trying to pull up memories from before the digital world was sometimes a little tougher than he thought it should be. Eiji… was his friend from kindergarten. They’d had a decent number of playdates and had gone to each other’s birthday parties. He liked dinosaurs and basketball and couldn’t keep a secret to save his life. They’d been buddies up until Takeru said he was going to be gone all summer for camp. Eiji had been so mad that they weren’t going to be able to go to the beach together.

“Yeah, I remember him,” he said, blinking hazy memories back.

“He was, well, he was devastated when you went missing. His family helped a lot with the -uh, the search. I know we’ve tried to keep your return away from the media, but there’s only so much we can do. Eiji’s mother called me last night. She said they’ve been giving us time to settle in and get you comfortable, but if you’re okay with it, Eiji really wants to see you.”

Takeru’s heart felt funny.

“He isn’t mad at me?”

“What? Honey, why would he be mad at you?” His mother was genuinely confused and Takeru felt a little silly that he was still worried about a spat from four years ago.

“We had a big fight right before I went to camp.” He almost giggled while saying it, suddenly feeling ridiculous. Like a fight he had when he was seven mattered.

Both his parents gave him a look verging on exasperation.

“I think he got over it real fast when he heard you were gone. Would you like to see him? They said it’s entirely up to you.”

Takeru sat back. Reconnecting with someone who knew him before all the digital world stuff was… He wanted that. It would be great to have someone he could just hang out with casually. Like Yamato had his band friends. He had zero idea what he would tell Eiji, but that was something he could figure out later.

He picked his chopsticks up, his appetite recovering now that the tension from the table had dissipated.

“Yeah, I’d love to see him."

* * *

“He’s evolved again, _already_?” Daisuke repeated incredulously.

Elecmon walked with them through Primary Village, a late spring breeze stirring the new leaves.

Takeru couldn’t wrap his head around it.

“Is it… bad? That he’s evolving so quickly?” Hikari asked the guardian.

Their unease was palpable and Takeru exchanged looks with the others. Ken looked seriously unsettled by the news.

“It’s not normal, that’s for sure,” Elecmon answered. “Most baby digimon take a few months to evolve the first time, and take a year or two to get to child level. Of course, that depends on how well they’re taken care of. And as great a caretaker I am, going from an egg to a child in seven months is too much for me to take credit for.”

Takeru’s stomach squirmed. “But is it bad?” he reiterated.

Elecmon scratched under his chin.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with him being good or bad. Even the dark masters grew up at a normal pace. He’s just different. Even at child level he still ain’t talking. Could be that he’s just so young. Could be something else. Something that was in his coding before he was corrupted. Something you guys did when you helped him.”

Takeru took a deep breath of the warm air, considering the information. It had never spoken when they were in the dark ocean, so that probably wasn’t on them. Holyangemon’s blessing, on the other hand, that may have something to do with the rapid change in form. Chosen digimon were able to evolve so much more quickly. Had they managed to transfer some of that power to him?

“Is he still happy here?” Hikari pressed, a hopeful light coming over her face. “You won’t make him leave just because he evolved, right?”

Takeru held in a chuckle when Elecmon turned around, wagging a finger in the young girl’s direction.

“Now listen, kid,” he scolded. “I don’t kick any ‘mon out of my care. They leave when they feel big enough to be on their own. Your little guy is still little, and where he isn’t talking, I don’t feel good about him going off too far. He’s helping me with the newer babies. He seems to love it. Gotta say I don’t mind the extra hands.”

The five of them came around a giant orange block and entered the heart of Primary Village. Baby digimon hopped everywhere, playing with balls, bouncing on the soft ground, and climbing all over each other. Takeru couldn’t help but smile. He had always loved it here. The atmosphere around the entire village was so pure. Nothing but happiness and love, joy and curiosity.

Hikari’s giggling pulled his attention back.

“There they are! Oh my gosh, look how big he is. What’s his name now?”

Takeru saw a flash of orange and smiled brightly at the scene.

Patamon and V-mon were running around in some convoluted version of tag, while Tailmon and Wormmon watched from atop a dome climbing structure. Running around with them was a small mint green digimon. He was much more turtle-like than his previous forms, a shell covering his back, though he stood on his hind legs. A light blue helmet sat on his head, shining brightly in the afternoon sunshine.

“He’s a Kamemon. I’ll be honest though, I never seen one quite that color. The staining is almost completely gone, so I ain’t talking about that. And uh, you’ll have to take a look at the patterns on his helmet yourself.” The red digimon laughed to himself before waving the playing digimon over.

Their partners looked thrilled to see them, running over and crying out their greetings. Kamemon ran with them, no less excited to see his frequent visitors.

Takeru let Patamon settle on his head, the lingering anxiety settling with him.

V-mon would not stop bouncing around, grabbing Daisuke’s hands and dragging the boy around with him.

“Daisuke! Daisuke, look! Kamemon is so good at tag already! I thought you said turtles were supposed to be slow?”

Hikari bent down to be closer to the new digimon’s height. He was pretty small, only coming up a little higher than their knees.

“Oh? You’re really fast, Kamemon? That’s so amazing!” She smiled indulgently.

The little digimon looked up at her and wiggled with joy. He said nothing, but happy gurgles bubbled up from his throat. He grinned up at them like a kid who’d learned to tie his shoes, bursting with pride.

Takeru took a moment and peered closer while the others praised him as well, complimenting him on evolving so quickly. Elecmon had said to check out his helmet…?

Oh.

Well then.

What Takeru had taken to be an almost camouflage-like pattern on the digimon’s helmet was actually recognizable shapes. They were random and overlapped, making it difficult to make out what they were at a distance, but up close one could tell that they were little crests of hope.

Except…

Takeru straightened up and bumped Ken with his elbow. The taller boy followed his gaze to where Takeru was staring.

Here and there were a couple crests of kindness. They were ever so faint, but they were there.

They looked to the happy little guy, dancing around and showing them how he could help Elecmon now. Takeru smiled, peace finally swelling in his heart.

“I don’t think we have anything to worry about."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone!! I am so happy people are reading this and enjoying it! <3


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